


Sol

by Polaroid_Memories



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Dad!Cor, Gen, MT!Prompto, Medical Procedures, Needles, Spoilers, Spoilers for Chapter 13
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2018-10-31 19:57:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10906404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polaroid_Memories/pseuds/Polaroid_Memories
Summary: Sometimes when you're out on a routine perimeter mission, you accidentally discover a young man who may or may not be a military experiment.Cor sets about rehabilitating MT!Prompto, who ends up making fast friends with our favourite Chocobros along the way.Original FFXV kinkmeme prompt is herehttp://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/3451.html?thread=3436155





	1. Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not Beta'd because my beta is way behind on the story and I don;t want to spoil them. Sorry for any weird mistakes etc. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)

At breakfast Gladiolus had been informed by his father that they needed to make a quick stop at Cor's place to pick up some documents and reports before heading to the palace for the day. Gladiolus didn't mind, however the concern in his fathers' voice upon announcing the visit was slightly unsettling. Gladiolus guessed it was something to do with the information that Cor had, Cor specialized in affairs relating to Niflheim military activity. Gladiolus made his way to the front drive where is father was waiting for him.

“Gladiolus are you ready?” Clarus called, he was already sitting in the drivers seat of the car.

“Yeah” Gladiolus said lazily as he opened the passenger side door and sat down.

“Before we head out, I need to tell you something. Cor is currently looking after a... casualty he found during a recent skirmish, the young man in question is quite unwell and might behave a little unusually.”

“How do you mean unusually?” Gladiolus said looking confused.

“We don't know much about his past, Cor has been trying his best to find relevant information, but it appears he was being used a test subject in Niflheim's military experiments. Cor is working to get him rehabilitated, if he can co-operate with us he may have vital information regarding the recent increase in Niflheim's activity.” Clarus took a pause for breath “I know it's a lot to take in, but please try to maintain your composure when we get there.”

“I will.” Gladiolus responds with conviction.

“Good.”

Clarus started the engine and drove the car carefully down the driveway.

It was only a short ten minute drive but Gladiolus found he couldn't focus on anything, he felt both curious and apprehensive. His father had trusted him to come along, perhaps to try and expose him to some of the horrors Niflheim were capable of, considering this Gladiolus did not want to let his father down.

It wasn't long until the car pulled up into a familiar driveway. Gladiolus noticed that all of the blinds on the house were shut, it was impossible to see in any of the windows. This struck Gladiolus as being unusual since it was still early morning.

Once the car had stopped the pair exited and began to make their way up the gravel pathway, the sound of their footsteps crunching in unison until they reached the door. Clarus pressed the button on the intercom and after a few seconds Cor's voice crackled through the speaker “State your name and business.”

“It's us Cor.” Clarus responded. The intercom buzzed in response signalling the door was open, Clarus pushed the door open letting Gladiolus enter first before closing the door firmly behind him. An invasive combination of smells assaulted Gladiolus's senses, the strong scent of bleach and something faintly unpleasant that he couldn't place. The pair peered down the hallway, it was lit by a solitary night light plugged into the wall socket halfway between the entrance and the staircase. The low lighting and strange odour gave Gladiolus an uneasy feeling, almost like he was being smothered. He shook his head to clear the sensation.

Clarus started mechanically towards the sitting room and Gladiolus followed. Cor was stood just inside the entrance, he greeted them wordlessly with a simple nod of the head and gestured for them to sit down. He looked exhausted, dark rings around his eyes, washed out complexion.

Gladiolus looked around the room, it was lit only by a thin beam of sunlight streaking in from between the central gap in the blinds, it was easier to see in this room compared to the hallway which gave Gladiolus a sense of relief. There were two empty armchairs arranged in a semi circle around a sofa.

On the sofa sat a small man with bandages all over his body, his legs curled up beside him, clutching a bucket to his chest with both arms. He was wearing a spare set of Cor's training clothes, too baggy for his lean frame. He looked up at the guests entering the room with wide panic stricken eyes. Cor took the spare seat on the sofa next to the frightened man and placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. It worked, the panic melted away from his expression. Clarus took the chair closest to Cor. Gladiolus took next armchair over. He felt awkward to be directly facing the mysterious man so he shifted his position in the chair diagonally a little so he could see everyone in the group easily.

“Thank you both for coming.” Cor finally broke the silence “I think introductions are in order.” Cor turned to face the small man next to him and said whilst gesturing in turn “The older gentleman there is called Clarus, and the younger is his son Gladiolus, they are allies okay? Allies.” Cor firmly put stress on the last word.

“Allies. Greetings! Unit zero zero zero six- No. Incorrect. Prompto. My new designation is Prompto.” he looked towards Cor, fearfully as if he was expecting to be reprimanded. Instead Cor smiled warmly and gave Prompto's shoulder a little squeeze to encourage him.

“I am Prompto, it is nice to meet you.” he sounded clunky as if the line were rehearsed.

“It's a pleasure to meet you Prompto.” Clarus said gently, he then shot a look over to Gladiolus cueing him to follow up. Gladiolus was a little slow on the uptake, he'd been dumbfounded by Prompto's robotic delivery and his initial use of some sort of code number as a name.

“Yeah... Nice to meet you.” Gladiolus finally replied. His father was right, it was a lot to take in. Gladiolus had so many questions about this strange blonde haired man. Of course he couldn't ask them with Prompto right there, despite being awkward it would be outright disrespectful.

Prompto's face contorted and his body tensed up, Cor spotted the shift immediately and pushed Prompto's head forward so his mouth was over the bucket. He began to heave dramatically, the first few were dry until he spluttered up something unnatural. It looked like motor oil, he spat it out into the bucket with disgust. The unpleasant smell that haunted Gladiolus in the hallway returned with stronger force. It was rancid, like spoiled meat. Once it was over, Cor handed Prompto a glass of water from the table beside the sofa, Prompto happily drank a few sips. Prompto then looked awkwardly at the visitors. Gladiolus was trying his utmost to try and hide the feeling of sheer disgust he felt upon viewing the vile expulsion. He looked to Cor and his father, they were wholly unaffected. Gladiolus realized, the bucket, his elders having no reaction. This was the sickness his father had told him about. It must not be contagious, he reasoned otherwise Prompto would be in a hospital. All Gladiolus could feel was sympathy, those Nif freaks had used Prompto as a laboratory animal and messed him up. After a short silence Prompto spoke up to assert himself.

“I'm trying to be better. Cor is helping me to purge, but... Ally Gladiolus is a spectacular specimen, peak physical condition! If I were like that I wouldn't be this weak.” Prompto remarked. He gazed upon Gladiolus with awe and jealousy.

“Prompto, here it's considered improper to refer to your allies as specimens, remember?” Cor said with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

“Apologies!” Prompto lowered his head in a bow before coming back up to continue “Gladiolus, your muscles are impressive...” Prompto looked like he as struggling for words.

Gladiolus felt weird to be complimented in such a manner but he found it hard to hold it against the guy. It was clear his vocabulary was limited, comprised almost entirely of cold scientific terminology, Gladiolus was beginning to realise why Cor was looking so worn out. He was having to keep up with his normal tasks and teach an ex-military experiment how to communicate with people.

Gladiolus decided to lighten the mood by flexing a bicep a whilst stating “I had to train pretty hard to get this way.” Prompto gawked at Gladiolus and excitedly turned to look at Cor.

“Cor.” Prompto paused like he was struggling with something before blurting out “I want to train too, to be a better subject, stronger. Then I won't keep failing missions.” Cor couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Prompto's enthusiasm.

“You have to get in better shape first.” he responded softly.

“I will.” Prompto's resolve was strong.

Clarus had been quietly observing the scene for a while but spoke up. “Gladiolus, can I leave you with Prompto for a while, Cor and I have some business to attend to in the study.”

“Sure thing.” Gladiolus replied.

Clarus rose off of his chair and left the room. Cor hesitated a moment, taking time to check Prompto was comfortable and fussing over him slightly before he got up. “I'm trusting you to watch over him a while Gladio.” Cor said nervously.

“I got 'im, you go before my Dad gets impatient” Gladiolus jested.

* * *

By the time Cor had reached the study Clarus had already made himself comfortable in the visitors chair on the opposite side of Cor's desk. Clarus could be impatient at times but Cor understood why, the job of being the King's Shield was extremely demanding on his time. Cor walked over to his seat and sat down, on his desk there sat a large black binder, it contained a quarterly summary of all the Niflheim activity he and his team had witnessed within the kingdom and, as per Regis' request, a complete write up on Prompto's condition starting from when Cor discovered him. Prompto had changed everything they new about Niflheim's Magitek Troopers.

He pushed the binder towards Clarus. “It's been difficult to keep up at the moment, I hope it's adequate.” Cor said as Clarus picked it up and started to thumb through the first few pages.

“Good work Cor. Regis will be pleased to see such a detailed report. You and your team have proven invaluable recently.” Clarus's voice was sincere, he continued “I've got some good news regarding your work, Regis has granted you leave of your normal duties for the time being until you can get young Prompto into a good position. He's pleased with the rehabilitation work you've been doing with him and thinks it's imperative that you continue, he believes that Prompto will be an invaluable insight into Niflheim operations.”

A wave of relief washed over Cor, but then anxiety crept up. “I'm grateful to Regis for affording me the time, and I don't mean this disrespectfully, but I'm concerned who will be in charge of my team whilst I'm working on this?”

“We knew you'd be concerned. Of course Regis, myself and the other counsel members considered this very carefully. We've vetted the Kingsglaive and found someone very capable to cover for you and continue your field work. You know her, Crowe Altius. She's shown exceptional leadership I think you'll agree.”

“That's an exceptional choice.” Cor breathed out steadily, he was reassured, he knew Crowe was more than capable enough to lead the skirmishes into Niflheim territory in his stead. Clarus was still flipping through the binder skim-reading Cor's report.

“I see Prompto has come a long way.” Clarus stated staring down at the information before him. “He's been with you for only two weeks, you've managed to introduce a few basic concepts to him. I'm impressed.”

“It's been very difficult, it appears that whatever the MT program is they treat the people they use like livestock. They receive no formal education and appear to be brainwashed into taking orders without question. We've been fighting MT's for years, the thought never crossed my mind that they might actually be human.” Cor shuddered. “From what I've manage to glean from Prompto they administer a regimen of various drugs, chemicals and even biological materials over years, which he insisted he needs, he said without it he cannot successfully complete the program... I've had to tell him that we're starting a new experiment, to purge the concoction from his system and start again. I... I'm sure you can get what you need from the report.”

“It will be a while before I can read it thoroughly, please continue.” Clarus insisted, the topic was fascinating.

“I believe that Niflheim have been experimenting with human daemon hybrids and I believe they are doing this by purposefully infecting their test subjects with the Starscourge, it's unconscionable, but it explains why their army is so powerful. Prompto was lucky when I found him, it was under the cover of night but I soon noticed he was extremely photosensitive, if he stays in direct sunlight for too long it's, horrifying... His body starts to... boil and melt. It's why we've assumed that the MT's were just empty shells until now. We've never managed to see what was inside before.” Cor was starting to look extremely uncomfortable but he continued “But exposing Prompto to the sunlight in short doses appears to aid with the purging.”

“It is extremely disturbing. It proves that our enemies will go to any lengths to gain military superiority.” Clarus was happy for the explanation but he could tell Cor was getting more distressed the longer he went on, Clarus hoped to change the direction of the conversation. “You've picked an interesting name for the boy.”

“He learns fast. It seemed to fit.” Cor felt slightly embarrassed but he didn't let it show.

“It's just like you to pick something practical.” Clarus mused.

“Yes... Well, we'd better get back to the sitting room, I imagine you have a busy day ahead of you as usual.” Cor changed the topic awkwardly. He added “And thank you for bringing Gladiolus with you. I'm hoping that Prompto being exposed to others nearer to his age will be good for his development.”

“I'm sure it will.” Clarus said as he stood up and made for the door.

* * *

 

After Cor and Clarus left the room Gladiolus sat staring at Prompto for a while stupefied. He had no idea what to do or say, eventually he broke the silence. “It's pretty dark in here huh?”

“The subject-” Prompto paused, he looked vexed “I... I can't stay in the sunlight, it hurts me.”

“What do you mean?” Gladiolus responded without thinking

“It's burns the flesh away.” Prompto stated simply as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“...That's awful.” Gladiolus couldn't believe what he was hearing. What kind of sick experiments were those Nifs doing?

“All subjects have the same attributes at the base. But the subjects are different here, they can go outside without their armour. But Cor says it's possible to adjust! Cor is trying a new experiment, sometimes Cor instructs the subject to put it's...” Prompto paused again to correct himself. “My, my hand in the light, it hurts less each time but it is still painful. Cor says I will get stronger, one day it won't burn and I can go outside again. I want to achieve the best results, I want to succeed.” Prompto declared with confidence in his voice.

A few moments passed in silence, Gladiolus was lost trying to make sense of what Prompto had said. Without armour? Gladiolus fixated on this detail, Prompto needed armour to go outside? This just raised more questions, he was certain he would have to quiz his Father after they left just to settle his curiosity. He didn't feel comfortable asking Prompto directly. Besides, Gladiolus wasn't sure that Prompto understood what he was any more than Gladiolus would.

Without warning Prompto started to heave again, with haste Gladiolus moved over to the space on the couch Cor had previously occupied and helped Prompto position himself better over the bucket. Gladiolus gently tilted Prompto's head forward as Cor had done before. The hacking and spluttering sounds were too visceral, Gladiolus could barely stand it, he couldn't help but avert his eyes as the vomit slopped out of Prompto's mouth. Luckily it all landed in the bucket, the smell was enough to make Gladiolus nauseous, he suppressed the feeling successfully.

“Water?” Gladiolus stated picking up the half full glass from the side and offering it to the blonde. Prompto took the glass and carefully swallowed a few mouthfuls of water.

“Thank you.” he handed the glass to Gladiolus who placed back on the side table. “This reaction, Cor calls it a … sickness from the old experiment. Not desirable. I, I don't need it, but what if it doesn't stop.”

“I think you'll get better in no time at all.” Gladiolus offered his support.

“You really think so? Your words...” he looked intensely at Gladiolus whilst briefly taking a hand off of his bucket and gently tapping it to his chest as if he were trying to indicate something.

Gladiolus was confused by the smaller man's gesture until he realized it was because Prompto simply didn't know how to describe his feelings at all, it was heart rending. Gladiolus couldn't understand what the hell would drive Niflheim into treating anyone this way. It wasn't right, taking people, brainwashing them like this. Gladiolus judged from Prompto's appearance that they were around the same age give or take a couple of years, and in all that time Prompto had been denied basic freedoms, denied his youth, denied the right to his own life. Gladiolus didn't want to know what kind of people would do this to other human beings, his emotions were negative slurry, he had to level himself out before speaking again. Gladiolus looked straight into Prompto's clear blue eyes.

“I believe in you Prompto, you will be stronger, I'm sure of it.” Gladiolus said with passion.

Gladiolus didn't anticipate the reaction. Tears started to roll down Prompto's cheeks.

“I'm sorry, did I say something bad?” Gladiolus panicked, thinking that he'd upset Prompto.

“Subject responds positively to your words. A favourable reaction.” Prompto asserted, a wide smile broke out across his face as the tears stopped. Gladiolus was relieved, he beamed back at Prompto.

Prompto's gaze lingered on his companion's expression until it flicked to the space behind Gladiolus focussing on something, Gladiolus turned to see what it was. His father and Cor, hovering in the doorway.

“How long have you been standing there?” Gladiolus mumbled.

“Long enough.” Clarus replied looking proudly at his son.

“Thank you Gladio.” Cor smiled warmly.

“No probs.” Gladio muttered. He felt slightly embarrassed that his elders had seen him lose his cool.

“We have to leave now.” Clarus stated, he was checking the time on his phone.

“Yeah sure.” Gladiolus turned to Prompto “Gotta get going but, keep up the good work yeah?”

Prompto nodded emphatically in response.

Gladiolus rose from the sofa and made towards the doorway, Cor stepped into the room passing Gladiolus to take his seat next to Prompto again.

“You okay Prompto?” Cor inquired.

“Yes.” Prompto chimed. Cor was taken aback slightly, he hadn't seen Prompto this happy before.

“Good, I'm pleased.”

Prompto looked over at Gladiolus and Clarus excitedly returning his gaze to Cor. “Will the allies be returning Cor?”

“Why don't you try asking them yourself Prompto?”

“Yes.” Prompto was flustered he turned to face the guests. “Will... will you be returning?”

“I'm sure we can make time for it Prompto.” Clarus said kindly

“Yeah, we gotta check how strong you're getting.” Gladiolus added.

“Won't let you down!” Prompto squeaked. “Cor!” Prompto fidgeted in his seat and tapped his hand on this chest again. “I'm going to do it. I'll be a success.”

Cor smiled at his ward, he felt hopeful, confident even that Prompto would see his claim through.

“We'll see ourselves out now, Cor, Prompto, it's been a pleasure.” Clarus announced. “Gladio, Ready?”

“Yeah I'm ready. See you soon!” .

“I'm looking forward to it.” Cor replied earnestly he nudged Prompto to respond.

“G- Goodbye.” he managed.

Clarus turned to exit with Gladiolus in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 12/07/2017
> 
> A few mistakes and weird sentences corrected  
> Changes in terminology involving MT's


	2. Overcast

 

Gladiolus quizzed his father about Prompto intensely in the few days after they had visited Cor's place. His father had obliged whenever Gladiolus asked and eventually even let him read Cor's report, it filled Gladiolus's head with the history of Magitek Troopers, Niflheim's atrocious practices and various theories about Prompto. His hatred of Niflheim deepened, though at the same rate his sympathy for Prompto grew. His father stipulated, of course, that he should not share the information with anyone outside of the King's council, Prompto's existence was already a contentious issue and as such was highly classified. This meant that Gladiolus could technically talk to Ignis and Noctis about Prompto, since Ignis sat in on the majority of the council meetings anyway, and heck Ignis probably already knew something.   
  
Gladiolus loved his job, but having a secret this big stewing inside of him was making it very difficult for him to stay focused on his tasks. To cover for his distraction Gladiolus just went harder at everything. His personal training benefited although some were concerned he may be over exerting himself more than usual, and the trainees for the Crownsgaurd however were not as appreciative. A few of them grumbled about the intensity of Gladiolus's drills, which only resulted in Gladiolus chiding the recruits telling them to they'd better be ready for adversity.   
  
The rest of the week passed by in a blur, training, more training, sleep, drills, harder drills, eventually the monotony broke on Friday evening just as he had finished up for the day and was heading towards the changing rooms. Gladiolus received a text message from Noctis.   
  
**6:11 pm <Noctis> Hey, you up for pizza at mine tonight?**  
 **  
**He felt relieved and spared no time answering.  
 **  
6:11pm <Gladiolus> Iggy won't let you eat a whole one?   
  
6:12pm <Noctis> Shut up.   
6:12pm <Noctis> Turn up at 7 or you get nothing.  
  
6:12pm <Gladiolus> Better make it 7:30, I'm still sweaty from training  
  
6:12pm <Noctis> Gross.   
6:12pm <Noctis> You're Gross.  
6:12pm <Noctis> Fine. 7:30.   
  
6:13pm <Gladiolus> See ya then  
  
**Gladiolus couldn't help but chuckle to himself, it was quite easy to joke around with Noctis, he was looking forward to spending time with him. He proceed to enter the changing rooms and got showered and changed in record time, giving him just under an hour to get to Noctis's apartment. It was a pleasant enough walk, but without the clatter of sparring weapons, gym equipment or the complaining of his trainees to keep his mind occupied Gladiolus's thoughts were soon dominated by Prompto again. It didn't matter that he knew Prompto was safe now, Gladiolus couldn't help but think and re-think all of the horrible things that had happened to him. He found himself focusing on some of the more gruesome details of Cor's report too intensely. All of these thoughts were only serving to deepen his concern.   
  
He arrived at Noctis's apartment complex and checked the time on his phone. 7:10pm.  
  
He pressed the intercom button and waited for an answer.  
  
“A tad early aren't you?” Ignis's sounded amused.  
  
“Yeah, I must've power walked or somthin'. Let me in?” **  
**  
“Certainly.” The familiar buzzing sound welcomed Gladiolus into the building as he pushed the front door open. He walked up the three flights of stairs, his legs burning with fatigue he was beginning to think that the extra sets of squats might not have been worth it after all.  
  
Ignis was waiting, holding the door open for him when he got to the top. He nodded in thanks as he crossed the threshold. He was about to walk straight into the apartment until a voice came from behind him.   
  
“Shoes Gladio.” Ignis rebuked.  
  
“Yeah, 'm sorry.” Gladiolus complied pulling his boots off and leaving them in the foot well.   
  
The pair made their way through to the main living space.  
  
As they entered the room the intoxicating smell of Ignis's cooking filled Gladiolus's nostrils. Fresh dough, tomato sauce and basil. Of course Ignis wasn't about to let Noctis order a pizza in. Gladiolus had to stop himself from drooling.   
  
“Gladiolus has arrived.” Ignis called out.   
  
“So we can finally put the pizza in the oven now right?” Noct yelled back, he was slouched on the sofa, his eyes fixed on his phone, fingers rapidly tapping away on the screen. Gladiolus sat next to Noct and peered over at the phone screen. King's Knight again, and Noctis looked like he was struggling with the current dungeon.  
  
Ignis walked over to the kitchen and proceeded to place the pizza into the oven.   
  
“Ten minutes Noctis.” Ignis said with impatience whilst setting the kitchen timer, an indication for Noctis to stop playing his game.  
  
“Tch, 'kay. I was losing anyway.” Noct closed the app and tossed his phone carelessly onto the coffee table.   
  
Gladiolus had been uncharacteristically silent since he got in. Normally he would've at least cracked a joke or two. But there were no jokes. He sat still, one finger idly twirling the tassel on a throw cushion he'd pulled into his lap, letting the homely smells of the apartment wash over him, wondering if Prompto had ever eaten pizza before. It took Gladiolus a few seconds to realise Noctis was trying to talk to him.  
  
“Hey! Dude? Are you even in there? I said do you want to watch a movie or something after dinner?”   
  
“Oh, sorry sure.” Gladiolus's reply was flat.  
  
“Is everything quite alright Gladio?” Ignis inquired.   
  
“Yeah.” it was an automatic reply  
  
“I'm not convinced big guy.” Noct said prodding Gladiolus hoping that would get some kind of reaction. Gladiolus didn't react, he didn't really know how to start.   
  
“You seem to quite be out of sorts. I've heard that you've been training much harder than usual, is something bothering you?” Ignis probed.   
  
Gladiolus flinched internally, he knew Ignis was concerned but sometimes it was overbearing. He let out a long sigh before finally opening up. “Have you guys, read any of Cor's mission reports lately?” Gladiolus hoped they had, it would save him trying to explain he already felt awkward enough as it were.  
  
“Nah, why would I read those? They aren't compulsory.” Noctis replied petulantly. Of course Noctis wouldn't have. He barely coasts by as it is, doing the bare minimum of work he could get away with.   
  
“The most recent one? It was quite disturbing. He found one of those Niflheim Megitek Troopers. He's been given permission to rehabilitate it, the King commented it could be vital in our understan- Gladio?” Ignis was startled to see Gladiolus's neutral expression form into one of consuming anger.  
  
“Ignis. He has a _name_. It's Prompto, I'm sure the report stated as such. I've met him and he's not and it or a _thing_. Okay?” Gladiolus strained desperately trying to hold back the full depth of his emotions.   
  
“Oh, I'm-.” Ignis floundered. “I wasn't aware... I'm sorry.”   
  
Gladiolus breathed out slowly to calm himself. He knew his friend wasn't trying to be disrespectful, if all Ignis had ever learnt about MT's was purely from reports he had no reason to think differently about them. Gladiolus certainly hadn't until he met Prompto.  
  
“I'm sorry too, it's just. If you could see this guy, he's, like us. It's just... been on my mind a lot.” Gladiolus regained his composure.   
  
“What what? You met an MT? What do you mean like us?” Noctis cut in, his voice carried an earnest curiosity.  
  
“Well, we thought they were like, just robots or something right? But they are just people. Born and raised to serve Niflheim's military.” Gladiolus was now squashing the throw cushion into his lap with both hands trying to contain his frustrations.   
  
“But how... they are like empty?” Noctis's brow was wrinkled in confusion.   
  
“Noctis really, this is why you should read all of the reports presented to the King. Not just the essential ones. I still have a copy of that very report in my briefcase, you can read it after dinner.” Ignis had managed to recover from his fumble and resume his role.   
  
The oven timer started to beep before Noctis could protest against his advisor, the sound seemed to clear the air. Ignis set on serving dinner, carefully cutting the pizza into equal slices whilst Noctis and Gladiolus set the table and took their seats. Ignis set the pizza dish down in the middle of the table as he seated himself.   
  
It looked beautiful, a margarita with a thin crust, perfectly golden brown at the edges, cheese melted into gooey pools. Ignis barely had time to lay a napkin across his lap before Noctis and Gladiolus grabbed up their first slices greedily, Ignis couldn't help but shake his head with amusement as a few strands of cheese escaped Noctis's slice and trailed onto the table. Gladiolus was thankful for the food he hadn't realized how hungry he was at until he bit into his slice. The food tasted even better than it looked. The flavours were perfectly balanced, Gladiolus let out an involuntary pleased grunt as he swallowed the morsel.  
  
Dinner was completely demolished within a few minutes. Ignis excused himself from the table he went to the hallway and retrieved the report from his briefcase for Noctis to read. He pressed it into Noctis's hands and retreated to the kitchen to finish cleaning up.   
  
Noctis and Gladiolus headed back to the couch. Gladiolus took the time to relax, he sat with his head resting on the back of the sofa staring up at the ceiling, feeling just full enough to be comfortable. He enjoyed the sensation of letting his mind empty until he was stirred by the sound of Noctis practically hissing at the the papers in his hands.   
  
“Hey.” he said, showing Noctis concern. He understood fully, it was fairly disturbing material that had been consuming the majority of his thoughts since Tuesday night when he first read it.   
  
“This is awful. Gladiolus. I can understand why you were mad at Specs before.” Noctis spoke through gritted teeth.   
  
“I know. Don't hold it against Iggy though, all the older reports about MT's are extremely cold. Cor has really made a breakthrough though, everything we think about MT's will change now and Prompto is... he's like... amazing.”   
  
“Glad, you sound like you're talking about a puppy or something.” Noctis teased.  
  
“Shut up!” Gladiolus gently and playfully pushed Noctis with his shoulder. They laughed together, Gladiolus was glad to have a friend like Noctis he could cut loose and joke around with.  
  
“This guy though, Prompto? He's like, my age. Damn. I had no idea. His life was basically robbed and, there's so many more people out there that are still being tortured.” A passion burned brightly in Noctis's eyes that Gladiolus hadn't seen in a while. The duality in Noctis's nature rarely ever came out in quick succession like this, it was in fact a powerful reminder of his position in the world.   
  
Ignis returned from the kitchen area and sat the on other side of Noctis, of course he'd been listening in on everything closely.   
  
“I'm sorry for my assumptions earlier Gladiolus. I didn't intend to be hurtful.” Ignis spoke sincerely   
  
Gladiolus waved his hand dismissively “No. It's fine Iggy seriously, I've just been kinda, pent up about this all week, obviously y'know 'cause it's classified. I just felt overwhelmed, I'm glad to have friends to share with.”   
  
“So tell us, what's Prompto actually like? The report is all... stuffy. Like Specs.” Noctis laughed, never one to try and sustain a serious mood.   
  
“Excuse me? You weren't calling me names when you were eating my food earlier.” Ignis sounded stern but he was smiling. “I have to admit I'm curious too. You do seem rather protective over this new acquaintance of yours Gladio.”  
  
“Well, he's tryin' real hard to get better, and he's still full of life in spite of it all y'know... And, I know he's still got a long way to go but there's just this light about him. I can't even begin to imagine what those Nifs put him through, and yet he pushes through. It's inspiring.”   
  
It was rare for Gladiolus to be this honest with his feelings. Yes, he trusted his friends deeply, but he felt vulnerable revealing how he felt about Prompto. It made him feel uneasy, the same way he felt when he was pressed to talk about what he liked about his father or his sister.   
  
“Thanks for sharing Gladio.” Ignis said softly.   
  
“Yeah thanks, made me a bit jealous though, never catch you talking about me like that.” Noctis with a bratty tone.   
  
“If you actually stuck to your sparring sessions and weren't such a little shit then maybe I would!” Gladiolus exclaimed.   
  
“Ouch. I'm wounded.” Noctis shot back.  
  
“Yes, and if you could keep up to date with your princely duties it wouldn't hurt either.” Ignis added  
  
“Not you too Specs!”   
  
Gladiolus and Ignis laughed in unison at Noctis.   
  
It was exactly this that could calm Gladiolus down, just hanging out and joking around. He felt lucky to have it.   
  
In the end Noctis picked some terrible action movie to watch that they barely payed any attention to, they let it play in the background and picked up King's Knight and finally got through the dungeon Noctis had been stuck on.   
  
As the night drew darker Gladiolus realized he best be getting home. He thanked Ignis for the food, bid farewell to his friends and left the apartment. He decided to jog home, the weather was right for it and he didn't feel up to calling one of the citadel cars to give him a lift.   
  
He was about a block away from his home when his phone began to ring. He checked the screen, it was Cor. He hastily hit the accept call button and pressed the phone to his ear.   
  
“Hi, Gladiolus?”  
  
“Hey Cor, everything okay?” Gladiolus's panic betrayed him and transferred into his voice.  
  
“Yeah, don't worry. Everything's fine. Oh... I guess it is a little late to be calling you. Sorry I'm finding difficult to keep the time at the moment.”   
  
Because of the darkness in the house Gladiolus thought, he didn't say it out loud though.  
  
“So what's up?”   
  
“This is going to sound weird. Could you pick up some new clothes for Prompto and drop them by tomorrow? O-Only if you are free though.”  
  
“Uh, yeah sure? I'm free but why me?” Gladiolus was a bit puzzled by the request.  
  
“I just want him to look, like he fits in? Besides, I'm reluctant to leave Prompto on his own again.” Cor felt his face burning with embarrassment and was so very glad this conversation was happening over the phone. He was thinking it but couldn't bring himself to admit “I'll dress him like a 40 year old, it will look weird.” Prompto already looked silly enough wearing Cor's spare clothes as it was.   
  
“Sure, just like casual style right?”   
  
“Yeah, I'll text you his sizes afterwards, about 4 sets should do for now, oh, he struggles with sleeves so tank tops if you can find them. And of course I'll reimburse you the money.” Cor tried to push away the feeling that he sounded like doting mother, he wasn't used to any of this. He hoped Gladiolus wouldn't mention anything to Clarus, he wouldn't live it down after he got back from leave.   
  
“Yeah I can do that, no worries. Hey, how is Prompto doing anyway?”   
  
Cor was relieved by how laid back and non-judgemental Gladiolus was.   
  
“He's doing better than when you saw him last. He isn't being sick as much which is a relief. He keeps asking about you though, so I'm sure he'll glad to see you tomorrow.” Cor smiled remembering earlier that day when Prompto was babbling on about showing Gladiolus how he'd improved.   
  
“Oh, cool. It's good to hear he's doing well! I'll see you both tomorrow then.”   
  
“Yeah. See ya.”   
  
Cor hung up.   
  
Gladiolus stood with his phone still pushed up against his ear for a while. So Prompto was asking about him. That made Gladiolus feel strange, not unpleasant, just strange. Did Prompto really look up to him, even after that one brief visit? He noticed he was still holding his phone to his ear when Cor's text came through. Gladiolus looked over it, damn, Prompto was tiny compared to himself, at least that meant that he wouldn't have any problems trying to find something in a regular clothing store. Gladiolus himself often struggled to find a top that could actually be pulled over his broad shoulders and chest.  
  
He pushed the phone back into his jeans pocket and ambled around the corner to his house. As he passed through the security gates and then the front door using his key-card he noticed the study room light was still on, his father was working late again, as usual. It seemed like all the hard training from the week had hit him all at once as he endeavoured to pull himself up the stairs excruciatingly, one step at a time. When he reached the study he knocked on the door lightly then poked his head through.   
  
“Hi.”   
  
“Oh, Gladiolus.” Clarus was startled, he looked up from his papers rubbing his temples. “What time is it?”   
  
Gladiolus pulled his phone out. The time read 12:15am, maybe he'd stayed out at Noctis's a little too long.   
  
“It's a quarter past midnight. I'm heading to bed now, don't stay up too late Dad.”   
  
“It's okay Gladiolus, I'm nearly finished.”  
  
“Okay, just don't sleep in and be late for breakfast, Iris will be annoyed again, remember last Saturday?” Gladiolus said, partially in jest but he also knew how much it meant to Iris to have breakfast together as a family as least once a week. Unlike Gladiolus, Iris didn't have a job in the citadel so she didn't have the chance to see their father as much as she'd like to.   
  
“Don't worry, I'll be there.” Clarus promised  
  
“'Kay night” Gladiolus said around a yawn.   
  
“Goodnight son.” Clarus smiled.   
  
Gladiolus lazily pushed the door open to his room and turned on his bedside lamp, he made sure to set an alarm on his phone for 7:30am and placed the phone on the small table next to his bed. He kicked his boots off and flopped face first onto his sweet, soft, pillow, he thought maybe he should at least take his jeans off but sleep encroached upon him before he even had time to turn his lamp off. He drifted off, into the most restful sleep he'd had all week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignis's opinions of MT's in this were directly inspired by how he describes them in the game when you first encounter them so don't spear me. 
> 
> Just as an aside, how horrible would Prompto have felt about that if he had any idea what he was??
> 
> Edited 12/07/2017  
> Sentence structure changed in a few places  
> Some mistakes corrected


	3. Clear Skies

The obnoxious sound of the alarm roused Gladiolus from his sleep, he looked towards the bedside table only to be temporarily blinded by the lamp he'd left on the previous night. He swatted around his bedside table for his phone and tapped to stop the alarm, he then fumbled for the lamp switch and successfully turned it off.   
  
“Gross, slept in my clothes.” Gladiolus said to himself, he felt uncomfortably sweaty. Looking down he discovered that he's managed to worm his way underneath the covers during the night. He threw the covers off and peeled himself from the mattress, grimacing at the sticky sensation the night's sweat had left on his skin. His muscles were in agony, too much exercise, he realized he was going to have to take it easy today. He finally pushed himself off of the bed, stretched out and headed to the shower in his en-suite. After ridding himself of his clothing he stood in the cubicle and turned the shower on, he welcomed the sensation of the warm water against his skin. He stood underneath the stream for a while and recalled Cor's request to his mind. He guessed he would just go to the sports outlet store, not too fancy and almost guaranteed to have tank tops. Gladiolus stood static underneath the warm water, the heat felt like a salve for his overworked body and he didn't feel like moving but eventually he forced himself to wash properly.  
  
After he'd finished showering and was changed into a new set of clothes he checked his face in the mirror, he decided he could probably get away without shaving today. He started the task of combing his hair through when there was a loud repetitive knocking at his bedroom door.   
  
“Gladdy come on! Breakfast! Even Dad beat you to the table!” Iris whined.  
  
“Yeah, I'll be down in a sec.” Gladiolus called back lazily.   
  
“You'd better be!” Iris threatened before she proceeded to stomp down the stairs indignantly. Gladiolus couldn't help but laugh to himself, he thought it was cute when she was being bratty but there was no way he would ever tell her that.   
  
Once he had sufficiently tamed his hair he made his way down to the kitchen. His father was already sitting at the head of the table and Iris was shuffling around in the kitchen area plating up their breakfast. It was simple just eggs, bacon and toast. Iris wasn't the best cook so she stuck to what she knew she could handle, she mostly enjoyed cooking for her family when she had the chance and they were more than happy to eat whatever she made.   
  
“Iris come on!” Gladiolus said imitating his sisters earlier whine as took his usual place to the right of their father.  
  
“Just be patient Gladdy! I want to make sure it's perfect.” She said delicately applying butter to each toast slice.  
  
“Why? You weren't patient, you nearly knocked my door off of it's hinges earlier.” Gladiolus said stifling a snicker.  
  
“Argh! Whatever! Here it's ready!” She carried everything over on a tray, taking care to give their father his plate and glass of juice first and then she took her own whilst sitting opposite Gladiolus.  
  
“What, am I in the doghouse or somethin'? You'll hand Dad his breakfast but I have to reach for it?” Gladiolus's voice was laced with false indignation as he retrieved his plate from the tray.   
  
Iris simply poked out her tongue, her default response to when she didn't have a good comeback.   
  
“Children-” Clarus tried to admonish them both but ended up just chuckling and shaking his head softly,   
  
In between mouthfuls of food the family talked, sharing in the mundane aspects of their week and cracking the occasional joke between them. The atmosphere in the room was loving and pleasant. When everyone was finished Gladiolus took the dishes to the sink and washed them up without complaint, he looked on peacefully at his family. Iris complained to their father about her maths homework assignment, Clarus tried to explain it to her but it only served to frustrate her more.   
  
As pedestrian as it was, the Saturday breakfast tradition was incredibly important to all of them, it helped them to feel like a real family, they could ignore their royal duties for a while and just simply be themselves.   
  
“Okay, I'm done with the dishes, I gotta go out.” Gladiolus announced. Iris's face scrunched up in disapproval. “Sorry, got some errands to run for Cor.”  
  
“No~ Stay and help me do my homework! Dad's just confusing me more... When you explain, it's not as complicated!”   
  
“Sorry Iris, I've got things to do.” Gladiolus responded.  
  
“You're useless.” Iris huffed under her breath.  
  
“Gladiolus, please send Cor my apologies.” Clarus requested. “I wanted to visit this but I've been inundated with work this weekend.”   
  
“Yeah sure thing, I'll let him know... Okay I'm really leaving now. Hope you both have a good day.”   
  
“You too son.” Clarus replied.   
  
Iris wordlessly gave her older brother a hug, Gladiolus reciprocated awkwardly, lightly patting her on the back, Iris gave him a squeeze before flopping back down in her seat. He knew Iris missed having regular family interaction, it was a constant source of guilt for both himself and his father.  
  
Gladiolus made his way out of the kitchen and onto the front porch. He called a car from the citadel to pick him up and take him to the Crown City main shopping district. The weather was very agreeable. Despite the fact it was early November the air was cool and the skies clear, the last of the autumn leaves were falling from the trees planted around the perimeter of the garden, leaving a warm carpet of red and orange across the front lawn. It wasn't long before the car arrived and Gladiolus was being whisked away from his home into the grey streets of Insomnia.  
  
The drive took longer than Gladiolus would've liked, the weekend traffic in the city left some roads extremely packed and slow moving. It was already 10am by the time they reached main strip, he gave instructions to the driver to pick him up again in an hour and take him to Cor's, the driver accepted and waved him off as he exited the car.   
  
Gladiolus walked straight towards the outlet store he thought about earlier, he usually shopped there himself. He stood in the entrance to the store, it felt weird to be picking out clothes like this. He started immediately toward the basic unbranded clothes section. He remembered that Cor just wanted Prompto to fit in, and Gladiolus didn't want to overthink his task too much. He knew it would be much simpler if he just went with his gut feelings.  
  
After a short while he'd managed to pick out what he reckoned was a decent selection, four tank tops in various dark colours, a couple of pairs of cargo shorts, a pair of black jeans, a 7-pack of generic black underwear and a similarly generic 7-pack of black socks. Contented with his decision he made for the checkout and left the store. He checked the time. 10:45am. He looked around the shopping plaza for something to kill the time before the car returned, he was vaguely acquainted with the various stores and cafés but nothing close by caught his attention.   
  
Gladiolus realised he should probably let Cor know he was on his way. He pulled out his phone, finding Cor's name in his contacts and hit call. It rang a fair few times before Cor picked up.   
  
“...Hi Gladiolus.” Cor sounded tense.  
  
“Hey Cor. I hope I didn't disturb anything.”   
  
“No, sorry. Prompto is talking to me. One second.” Cor had put his hand over the phone to try and mute the sound but it only muffled it. Gladiolus could make out the conversation on the other side. “Prompto... Yes, it's Gladiolus.”   
  
“Is he near?” Prompto questioned, he was just barely audiable.   
  
“I'll ask him.” The hand was removed and Cor's voice got clearer “How far away are you?”  
  
“I'm just waiting on the car to show up. I'll probably be about 30-40 minutes.”  
  
“That's good. Prompto is... very enthusiastic about seeing you again. I hope that isn't overwhelming.”   
  
“A little...” Gladiolus laughed nervously “But, I'll be happy to see him again.”   
  
Cor exhaled steadily as if Gladiolus's sentiment was a relief he finally spoke again. “I trust you were able to find some suitable clothes.”  
  
“Oh yeah, It's all basic but you just wanted normal right? And I managed to get tank tops too, I hope he likes everything.”   
  
“I imagine he will. Okay, I'll let you go. See you soon. Sorry. Hang on. Prompto wants to say something.” Muffled bumping sounds indicated that Cor had passed the phone on  
  
“See you soon!” Prompto piped through the speaker into Gladiolus's ear.  
  
“Yeah!” Gladiolus practically squeaked back, he was caught off guard. He cleared his throat and started again. “Yeah, I'll see you soon.”  
  
“Okay! Goodbye!” Prompto declared. Gladiolus's ear filled with the drone of the disconnect tone. He stood blinking for a few seconds. It was hard to reconcile the fact that up until now Prompto's life had been awful and yet... and yet he was capable of being so innocent and energetic.  
  
The car showed up shortly after the phone call ended, luckily the traffic had eased off making the drive to Cor's a lot more pleasant than the drive into town. Gladiolus felt excited, he was looking forward to seeing Prompto again more than he cared to admit.   
  
The car pulled up on the street just in front of Cor's driveway. Gladiolus thanked the driver and left the vehicle. Gripping the shopping bag tightly in his fist he walked up the gravel driveway to the front door and pressed the intercom.

  
“S-State your name and business!” It was Prompto, nervously but purposefully mimicking Cor's usual protocol.  
  
“Hey it's Gladiolus. Can I come in?”   
  
“Yes!” Prompto replied eagerly, the characteristic sound of the buzzer followed. Gladiolus pushed open the door and closed it behind him immediately. The awful smells he remembered from his last visit were now absent, the air was filled with an indistinguishable pleasant musk that reminded Gladiolus of his own home. As Gladiolus's eyes adjusted to the low light he noticed Cor and Prompto were stood about two feet in front of him, the smile on Prompto's face seemed to stretch from ear to ear.   
  
“Ally Gladiolus! You came back! Thank you. I, I want to show you- I've improved.” Prompto was speaking too fast, tripping over his words frantically. Gladiolus didn't have time to think let alone reply.   
  
“Prompto please calm down, he's only just got here, we'll have plenty of time.” Cor sighed, it seemed half from frustration, half from amusement.   
  
“A-Affirmative”   
  
“It's good to see you, Prompto.” Gladiolus said warmly.   
  
“It's good to see you too!” Prompto was nearly bouncing as he responded, it seemed now that his overall health was better he had a lot more energy, it was heartening.  
  
”Should we go sit down?” Cor suggested, Prompto rushed to the sitting room and held the door open for his companions. Gladiolus nodded at Prompto in thanks as he walked past to sit down the armchair he'd occupied on his last visit. Cor and Prompto took seats on the sofa.   
  
“Did you manage to get everything Gladiolus?” Cor asked.  
  
“Oh yeah, here.” Gladiolus handed the bag over to Cor. “I hope it's okay, I left the receipt inside.”  
  
Cor pulled the clothes out of the bag one by one, he looked each item over and handed them to Prompto afterwards. “What do you think Prompto? Do you think they look more comfortable than my baggy old clothes?”  
  
“Yes.” Prompto replied bluntly.   
  
“After Gladiolus leaves you can try them on.” Cor replied smiling with amusement at Prompto's tactless response. After trying and failing to fold the clothes back up Prompto grabbed the shopping bag from Cor's lap and stuffed the clothes back inside and placed he bag on the floor.   
  
“Thank you Gladiolus, Cor told me, he sent you to pick something. Subject doesn't like wearing these.” Prompto pulled on the long sleeves on the sweater he was wearing.   
  
“No problem Prompto. I'm happy to help. How have you been anyway?”   
  
“Good! I've been getting good results! Can I show him Cor?” Prompto fidgeted whilst waiting for a response, shifting his weight from one side of his body to another in anticipation.   
  


“Okay, but don't over do it.” Cor was deadly serious, the contrast in tone between the older man and his ward was unsettling to Gladiolus. He would soon understand Cor's warning.   
  
Prompto walked across the room to the window carefully observing the gap in the blinds, he rolled up his sleeve and plunged his hand into the stream of light. An expression of sheer agony twisted his features, it was clear he was in pain. However instead of giving up he exhaled slowly and steadied himself. He rotated his hand in the light observing how the beams slipped through the gaps in his fingers, making patterns on the carpet behind him. Gladiolus stared on his stomach in knots, he almost couldn't bear watching Prompto put himself though this ordeal but he knew it was necessary. Suppressing a whimper Prompto pulled his hand away and turned to look back into the room, his gaze intense.   
  
“Cor, duration?” Prompto demanded.   
  
“One minute and thirty seconds.” Cor responded checking the time on his watch.   
  
“Not the best result.” Prompto chided himself.  
  
“No but in the past week you've improved so much. I'm glad.” Cor reassured the younger man.   
  
“That's true, Ally Gladiolus! At the beginning of this week I could only sustain contact with the sunlight for twenty seconds!” Prompto looked proud of himself, he smiled brightly whilst cradling his hand against his body as if to soothe it.   
  
“You are getting stronger, see I told you so.” Gladiolus asserted, determined to be a positive voice for Prompto.   
  
“Thank you Gladiolus, you- When I think about your words it makes me try harder. It's... good.” he maintained eye contact with Gladiolus as he spoke, and he'd let his aching hand fall into Cor's grasp. Cor checked over it wordlessly making sure there was no damage, something about how relaxed Prompto was with being inspected in this way unsettled Gladiolus. Images flashed into his mind of faceless scientists prodding and poking Prompto, he blinked consciously and tried to return to the moment. He couldn't. And he couldn't find his words. He wanted desperately to be supportive but the nature of Prompto's condition was too much to take in. He was in awe of Cor who seemed to take everything in his stride. In contrast Gladiolus felt inept, hating himself for feeling overwhelmed.   
  
His feelings must have leaked into his expression since he found himself the subject of Prompto's questioning. “Gladiolus, are you in pain?”   
  
The question caught Cor's attention, he let go of Prompto's hand once he was sure it was injury free and turned to look at Gladiolus carefully. Gladiolus was gritting his teeth, Cor recognised that he was not in physical pain, but knew all to well that being around Prompto was very demanding. Prompto looked at Cor with panic in his eyes.   
  
“Gladiolus, do you need a minute?” Cor's voice was compassionate.   
  
Gladiolus shook his head quickly, to clear his mind. “No. I'm Sorry. I'll be alright.” he managed.   
  
“It's okay. I know it can be hard.” Cor assured him, knowing it was better not to press for him to open up. Gladiolus preferred to work through his own feelings, Cor knew this much from training with him as he grew up.  
  
“Thanks.” Gladiolus felt steadied by Cor's assertion. It's okay, it can be hard, he repeated to himself internally.   
  
Prompto spent this exchange looking from Gladiolus to Cor frantically, when Gladiolus noticed this it snapped him out of his head spin.   
  
“I'm okay Prompto, sorry if I scared you.” Gladiolus apologised in earnest.  
  
“Subject doesn't understand. Does the Ally have a condition?” in his panic Prompto unintentionally reverted to his natural way of speaking.   
  
“How to say this? Prompto, where you were living before it's very different to here in Insomnia. When I think about how different it is, it makes me feel upset.” Gladiolus said softly.  
  
“Feel upset.” Prompto mirrored puzzling out the phrase until it looked like something clicked together in his mind. “I remember something Cor told me. Feeling upset, that is an... emotion?” It sounded like a question but it was more of a statement.  
  
Cor simply nodded to urge Prompto on.   
  
“Here Subje-... I, I am valued. I can contribute to research and, it is more rewarding than the old program. We make progress together. It is very different here, there are many things I do not understand, and yes, I too... feel upset at times when I remember how things were at the base.” Prompto looked as though he was struggling yet again to find what he wanted to say, but with a familiar gesture he placed his hand over his heart as he had done a few days before and continued. “Gladiolus, I believe I understand now, but please do not keep this upset with you, I will go through difficulties but what happened before, that's over now.”   
  
“Th- Thank you Prompto.” Gladiolus was taken aback by Prompto's stoic response, it had been just a few days since he had visited last and he could already see the improvement. It was clear that there was a wealth of compassion and intellect in Prompto waiting to take full form, obscured by years of brainwashing, harsh training and neglect.   
  
“You're welcome!” Prompto beamed.   
  
Gladiolus breathed out and sunk back into his seat, realising he hadn't really relaxed since he'd arrived at Cor's place. As he reclined he began to notice he was getting quite hungry, he'd also forgotten to pick anything up whilst he was out.   
  
“Hey. I'm pretty hungry and I forgot to pick any lunch earlier, don't suppose you've got anything?” Gladiolus asked.   
  
Cor checked the time on his watch.  
  
“Oh, yeah. It is lunch time... I'm a bit low on groceries, but somehow I figure you'd be fine with Cup Noodles?” Cor would've felt embarrassed to admit to anyone else that he and Prompto had largely been getting by on Cup Noodles and microwave dinners, but this was Gladiolus after all.  
  
“Yes. I would be very fine with that. Thanks.” Gladiolus replied with a wide smile.  
  
“I want one too please!” Prompto piped up.   
  
“Okay, okay. I'll go make them.“ Cor said, gently laughing before getting up and sloping off into the kitchen.   
  
“Gladiolus?”   
  
“What's up?”   
  
“What's your... job? Yes, job. What is it like? Cor told me, you both work for the royal family of Insomnia. It sounds very interesting and important.” Prompto had an inquisitive tone to his voice.   
  
“It is quite important. I guess it can be interesting but it's mostly routine. I train hard to be strong enough to defend the Prince Noctis, and I teach others to do the same. I'm also responsible for training Noctis in combat skills but he can be very difficult about it sometimes.” Gladiolus paused to laugh “It's not easy but, I'm proud of my work.”   
  
“Wow, it must be an honour to work directly for a Prince. I can't even imagine being assigned to such a task.” Prompto mused.  
  
Gladiolus couldn't help but burst into laughter at this assertion.   
  
“Why? Why are you laughing?”   
  
“If you knew the Prince then you'd understand why. I guess yes, it's a honour to work for him. But he's also a lazy brat.”   
  
“You. You talk about him that way?” Prompto looked shocked. “Isn't that disrespectful? Won't you be punished?”  
  
“Oh! Hey, don't worry. It's okay, Noctis and I are friends, he doesn't mind. We both trash talk each other.”  
  
“Trash talk? I've not heard that before...” Prompto was confused again.   
  
“That's, when you are friends with someone it's okay to point out each others flaws and laugh about them. It's erm...”  
  
“It's a bonding exercise, think of it as a way to strengthening teamwork. By pointing out each others flaws and shortcomings each individual can become aware of them.” Cor interrupted walking into the room carrying a tray with three Cup Noodles each accompanied by forks.   
  
“Oh! Thank you Cor. I'll try to remember. Trash talking.” Prompto chimed.   
  
“Yeah...Thanks Cor.” Gladiolus rubbed the back of his neck abashedly.   
  
“Cor, did you know that Gladiolus is... friends? Friends, with the Prince! That's impressive! Don't you think?”  
  
Cor could only chuckle as he handed the meals out and sat back down again, they all started to dig in without exchanging a word. Gladiolus was trying to savour his since he really enjoyed the taste but couldn't resist devouring it like a hungry dog, after all he hadn't eaten for since the morning. When everyone had finished Cor took the empty cups and forks to the kitchen and returned. Gladiolus was fully relaxed now, he lounged back in the armchair contentedly one hand patting his stomach.   
  
“I'm glad you enjoyed it, it's hardly gourmet cooking.” Cor said regarding Gladiolus's current state.  
  
“No, but you know me. Can't resist Cup Noodles, you should see the look on Ignis's face when I choose to eat one over his cooking. Priceless.” Gladiolus trailed off into laughter.  
  
“Wh- Who's Ignis?” Prompto bubbled with curiosity.   
  
“He also works for the Crownsguard, and he's also Noctis's advisor. We've worked together for a long time.” Gladiolus offered.  
  
“Are you friends with him too?” There was a slight hint of jealousy in Prompto's voice.  
  
“Well, yeah. It's hard not to be friends with someone you've known for most of your life.”  
  
Prompto looked down into his lap and swallowed hard before raising his gaze to make direct eye contact. “A- Are we friends Gladiolus?”   
  
The question took Gladiolus by surprise but he wasted no time answering. “Of course we are Prompto.”   
  
Prompto could only beam in response, this time he was lost for words but not because he was overcome with confusion, but because he was overwhelmed with joy, Cor had a gentle smile on his face too.   
  
They spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, Prompto asked question after question to both Gladiolus and Cor. More specifics about the Crownsguard, who were the Kingsglaive, what Ignis and Noctis were truly like. The older men happily obliged, telling anecdotes and giving detailed descriptions when Prompto didn't completely comprehend. It wasn't until the sun was starting to get low in the sky, and sunbeams invaded further into the room from the gap between the blinds that Gladiolus realized how long they'd been talking and laughing together.   
  
“Hey, it's been real fun but I'm gonna call a car and head back home. I'm not sure if my Dad's back yet but I know Iris'll probably be lonely.” Gladiolus said sighing.   
  
“Iris?” Prompto inquired.  
  
“My younger sister, I guess I didn't mention her before, sorry. She hates the weekends because Dad and I always end up working but I think I owe her the occasional evening.”  
  
“Wow, after all I've learnt today, there's still more I don't know about you.”   
  
“Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to learn.” Gladiolus smiled kindly at Prompto who smiled back brightly.   
  
“How is your father anyway?” Cor asked.  
  
“Oh! I totally forgot to say. He said he's sorry he couldn't make it this time, he's got too much work going on.”   
  
“Don't worry Gladiolus, I understand how it is, give him my regards.”  
  
“C-Cor? Should I ask him?” Prompto butted in.  
  
“Go ahead Prompto.” Cor encouraged.  
  
“Gladiolus, would it be too much trouble if you came by every week? I... Enjoy seeing you.” Prompto asked nervously.   
  
“Of course I will!” Gladiolus answered earnestly and without hesitation.   
  
“Th-Thank you!” Prompto stammered excitedly.  
  
“I told you he'd be okay with it Prompto.” Cor added whilst lightly ruffling Prompto's hair. Gladiolus tried not to react, this was the most affectionate he'd ever seen Cor behave. He felt awkward like he'd seen something too personal. Although it was understandable, Prompto had a magnetism that derived from his natural curiosity and sheer determination it was very difficult not to feel affection for him.  
  
Gladiolus called a citadel car and chatted a little more with Cor and Prompto until it arrived. He said his goodbyes, whilst reinforcing that he would, in fact, be back next Saturday. Prompto bounced around proclaiming he'd be even stronger next time. Gladiolus left and got into the car feeling very positive, almost like a weight had been lifted now that he'd seen Prompto make a definite improvement. It was a welcome relief after he'd been internally fixated on the content of Cor's reports all week.  
  
It was already early evening, which meant the traffic along the streets had improved significantly. Gladiolus spent the journey staring out of the car window, appreciating his surroundings.   
_  
_It was only a few minutes before he reached his home, he headed inside and found that his father was still away, no surprises there. He headed to the living room where Iris had her maths homework sprawled out across the coffee table, she was sat on the floor in between the sofa and the table, slumped over, her chin resting on her math textbook, arm outstretched clutching the remote control, listlessly flipping through TV channels. It looked like she'd been there for hours procrastinating. When Gladiolus approached, her face lit up with glee and Gladiolus knew what she was going to ask him. He was roped into helping her out after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and kind words, they've really helped to keep me motivated! As it turns out I've given myself quite the writing challenge, so I'm sorry that this took so long for me to write. I re-wrote some of the Prompto sections so many times before I was happy with them.
> 
> Anyway- I hope you enjoy!  
> X
> 
> Edited 12/07/2017  
> mistakes corrected, some sentences changed.


	4. Cloud Breaks

Even though it had been a couple of months since Prompto had come under Cor's care, Cor was still experiencing very intense anxiety. Anxiety he was sure would have subsided by now, however some days it even seemed worse than it was at the beginning. Specifically it made him feel as though he was outside of himself and not in control of the situation at all. This time Cor found himself in a somewhat heated discussion with Prompto.  
  
“Subject can do it.” Prompto insisted passionately.  
  
“It's too risky.” Cor repeated, though he sounded strained his voice wavering.   
  
“Subject understands, you have concerns about success.”   
  
“It's not just concerns about the experiment Prompto. If you push yourself too far you could become fatally injured.”   
  
“Subject has achieved exposure of individual limbs for a maximum of seventeen full minutes. Subject believes that it can advance to the next stage, this is the only way to truly measure progress.”   
  
“It's full exposure to sunlight Prompto. It's not to be taken lightly.” Cor was doing his best to remain calm.  
  
“Then Cor sets the parameters, for safety. Subject will not deviate. Subject will honor Cor's decisions.”   
  
“Even if you disagree with how restrictive those parameters will be?”   
  
“Subject will comply.” Prompto's voice carried his strong resolve.   
  
There was a moment of silence before Cor could reply. He was carefully thinking over his options, he wasn't comfortable that he'd just lost the arguement. He spoke against his better judgement.   
  
“You can go into the back garden for a maximum of thirty seconds, you must stand in the shade. If you experience even a slight amount of discomfort you must come back inside immediately. I will not be challenged on this.” Cor stated slowly and carefully.  
  
“Agreed.”   
  
“Then it's settled, are you ready now?”   
  
“Yes, thank you Cor. S- I will not let you down.” Prompto had calmed down enough to correct himself.  
  
“Let's go then.” Cor was apprehensive, but he hated standing in the way of another's personal goals. He remembered the countless times in the past where someone, either his parents or superiors had told him not to do something, it only made him want to do it more. At least this way Cor had control over Prompto's actions, he'd rather this than Prompto trying something without any supervision and injuring himself or worse.   
  
The pair stood by the back door, Cor turned the handle and the door swung open.   
  
Cor looked to Prompto and nodded, the signal to go ahead. Prompto nodded back, his expression was one of complete conviction.   
  
He stepped through the doorway out onto the patio, staying within the shade provided by the building. Cor watched Prompto closely, ready to act. Prompto's eyes darted wildly around as if they were trying to drink everything in. He closed his eyes, took in a few deep breaths and opened his eyes again. He looked more relaxed, his eyes fixed downward upon a small daisy growing up through a crack in the patio tile.   
  
Prompto lurched forward suddenly, Cor immediately pulled Prompto back inside the house, gently propping him up against the wall.  
  
“Are you hurt?” Cor enquired as he closed the door.   
  
“No, it was... starting to become unpleasant, got dizzy. But I... I have become weakened but, I'm... fine.” Prompto said through gritted teeth as his hands had balled into fists. “How long?”  
  
“Fifteen seconds.”  
  
Prompto was crestfallen, he regained his footing and allowed Cor to perform a visual check for any damage on his body. Once satisfied Cor spoke up again. “I don't think we'll be trying that again too soon, you appear to be fine physically, there's no signs of external injury. Are you still dizzy?”  
  
Prompto gave a shallow nod in response to the question but looked like he wanted to protest, his forehead creased as if he was trying to arrange his thoughts, then his expression softened to one of defeat.   
  
“I'm sorry Cor. I shouldn't have rushed.” Prompto's voice wobbled.“It's just... What, what was that word? Frustrating. It's frustrating. This process feels like it's taking too long. I- I'm not used to results being this slow.”  
  
“If I could make it faster for you I would Prompto. I'm sorry. It's going to take time.”   
  
“I- I understand. This is just all so different.” Prompto began to loosen in his posture, his hands unfurled into a neutral position.  
  
“Come on, let's go relax a while.” Cor suggested, they both needed it.  
  
“Yes...” Prompto agreed.  
  
They walked back though the house to the sitting room. They both sat down, Prompto immediately curling his feet up on the couch and leaning into Cor, who wrapped his arm around the younger man to comfort him. They sat for a while without exchanging a single word. It was comfortable silence until Cor's thoughts caught up with him. He felt he shouldn't be this attached to Prompto, but there weren't any rules for rehabilitating a test subject of a war experiment into a human being.   
  
He knew that Regis had given him this task because using a purely scientific lens to look at Prompto's situation felt unethical, all he'd been was a subject however, Cor often wrestled with ethics of what he was doing himself. Letting Prompto become his own person was hard, he had to let Prompto's feelings and opinions develop naturally. The pressure to make sure he treated Prompto correctly and didn't cause permanent psychological damage got very intense hence the anxiety.   
  
Cor started wondering if there was any way he could've handled today differently, replaying their debate over and over in his head, trying to pick out any flaws on his part. Each successive scenario causing his mind to fray even further, he felt the familiar sensation of bile rising in his stomach.   
  
After some time Prompto began to speak, it was a welcome relief to Cor. Prompto's voice cut through the internal noise filling up his head.   
  
“I wish I could stay outside Cor. Everything looks better, clearer, more.... just more... There's just too much I haven't seen before without... the helmet. Like that little plant, the colours...” Prompto trailed off wistfully.   
  
“Do you want to know what that plant is called?” Cor offered in an attempt to cheer Prompto up a little.  
  
“Yes please.” Prompto replied looking up at Cor expectantly.  
  
“It's commonly called a daisy, I can't recall the scientific name.”  
  
“A daisy. I will remember that name... I just want to remember how it looked in the light.” His voice echoed with melancholy.   
  
Prompto's wish began to stir Cor's thoughts, he was sure he still had something that could help out.  
  
“I think I've got something that we can use Prompto. Come I'll show you.”   
  
Cor ascended the staircase to his bedroom and began to rummage around in his wardrobe until he found what he was looking for, a camera he once used it for missions but it proved too cumbersome.   
  
Cor turned to find Prompto standing behind him with an fascinated expression on his face.  
  
“It's a camera, you can use it to save an image of something you see.” Cor's explanation wasn't adequate enough on it's own. He could see the confusion flicker across Prompto's face, an all too familiar sight. “Here I'll show you.”   
  
Cor turned the camera on and to his relief the battery still had some charge in it. Prompto shuffled up alongside Cor to get a better look. Cor flipped the screen around to reveal the preview display, he then held the camera up and slowly panned it around the room. He then focused on the window where the light was shining through the blinds and pressed the shutter, the picture was displayed on the screen for a few moments before disappearing again. Cor went back through the menu and showed the image again to Prompto who'd been keenly watching the whole process.  
  
“You try.” Cor handed the camera to Prompto, who took it cautiously.   
  
Prompto copied exactly what Cor had done and took a nearly identical picture. “Oh!” Prompto exclaimed “I see!”   
  
“It's called a camera and those images are referred to as photographs and I'd like you to have it Prompto.”  
  
“Th-thank you!” Prompto stammered as he accepted the gift. “S- Since I can't go back outside again today... Can you, possibly take a... photograph of that daisy for me?”   
  
“Certainly.”   
  
Cor knew he didn't have much of a talent for photography but he paid attention to the composition and lighting, and it took a few attempts until he was happy with the final picture. When he entered the house again he found Prompto standing by the door waiting eagerly. Cor handed the camera back to Prompto, who looked over the photograph studying it closely, as he did his face lit up.   
  
“Thank you Cor!” Prompto chimed, flashing a crooked smile at Cor.   
  
Cor smiled back at Prompto, he felt a huge wave of relief since he was sure this day could've been awful. He'd managed to save it, luckily.   
  
The pair spent the rest of the afternoon in the sitting room. Prompto admitted he was still feeling dizzy so he rested on the couch, dozing occasionally and sometimes asking Cor an odd question about whatever happened to pass his mind. Cor, of course answered whenever he could, the questions were an often welcome break from all of the dry work related reports he was still trying to keep up with.   
  
As the sun was getting lower and the sky began to darken, the peaceful household was disturbed by a familiar ringing sound.   
  
Cor fished around in his pocket for his phone, panicking slightly, whenever he received a phone call when he wasn't expecting one he always assumed the worst. When he checked the screen it read:   
  


* * *

**Incoming Call  
Ignis Scientia  
**

* * *

**  
**He answered immediately, he was certainly not expecting Ignis to call him.  
  
“Good Evening Marshal.” Ignis sounded calm, but that wasn't much of an indicator. He always sounded calm.  
  
“Good evening, I wasn't expecting a call. Is everything alright?”   
  
“Oh, sorry to bother you. Yes, everything is quite alright. I was calling because I have a request.”  
  
“Go ahead.” Cor mellowed as he was fairly sure what Ignis was going to ask.  
  
“I was hoping there would be no objections if I were to accompany Gladiolus tomorrow. I wish to meet Prompto.”  
  
“I have no objections, I'll ask Prompto though just to be sure.”   
  
Prompto's head twitched up when he heard his name, his inquisitive gaze locked onto Cor.   
  
“Prompto, would you like to meet Ignis tomorrow? He wants to come with Gladiolus to visit you.” Cor made sure he wasn't covering the receiver so Ignis was able to hear the reply.  
  
“Gladiolus is coming tomorrow? I, I forgot which day it was!” Prompto beamed.   
  
Cor tried to stifle his laughter but was unsuccessful. He gave Prompto a few seconds to answer.   
  
“Yes! I would like to meet Ignis. I- I've often wondered what he is like, Gladiolus talks a lot about him and his cooking!”   
  
“Well, there you have it Ignis, we'll be seeing you tomorrow.” Cor said cheerfully.  
  
“Excellent. I was considering an offer anyway, and since Prompto even mentioned it- Would it be okay if I cooked lunch for everyone?”   
  
“Of course. You'll have to bring the ingredients though.” Cor thought about his poorly stocked kitchen, it was almost guaranteed that Ignis would have a few words to say about it.  
  
“That won't be an issue, I'll be seeing you both tomorrow then. Have a good evening.”  
  
“You too, Ignis. Bye.”   
  
“Goodbye.”   
  
Ignis ended the call.   
  
Cor put his phone away, taking a moment to observe how happy Prompto looked. The task was immense it came with anguish, anxiety, stress and sleepless nights, but the reward was validating, it was all worth it just to see Prompto become human, however slowly.   
  
“Excited Prompto?”   
  
“Yes!” He saw smiling uncontrollably.   
  
“We'd better get some dinner then head to bed, I didn't notice how late it had gotten. We could both do with the rest too.”  
  
Prompto nodded.   
  
Dinner was the usual canned curry and rice, as Cor was plating it up he started to mentally prepare himself for Ignis's assessment. Cor would like to blame Prompto for his eating habits but he was always this way. He just felt like he always had more important things to do than cook food and so, his cupboards were stocked with easily prepared canned food and instant meals.   
  
He called Prompto when the food was ready and they ate together at the kitchen table. Prompto was very quiet over dinner, he looked pensive. After their meal Prompto helped Cor to wash the and dry the dishes, as he was drying the plates he began to look worried.   
  
“Everything okay Prompto?”  
  
“Uh- Feel... Like my stomach keeps suddenly... Dropping? When I think about meeting Ignis. It's... unpleasant, I don't feel this way about You or Gladiolus or even Clarus. Well, maybe a little about Clarus...” Prompto rambled.  
  
“You're just feeling nervous Prompto. Are you worried about Ignis?”  
  
“I-I want him to like me, maybe we- we can be friends too.”  
  
“Prompto...” Cor paused, he smiled softly at his ward “Ignis asked to visit _you_ , that means he wants to get to know you.”   
  
“That's true. Thank you!”   
  
“It's okay Prompto. I guess we'd better get ready for bed.”   
  
“I'm going to clean my teeth first, you take too long!” With that Prompto scampered up the stairs to the bathroom.  
  
Cor finished putting the plates away and cleaning up the clutter from the day and made his way upstairs. Prompto had already finished in the bathroom, so Cor went to check in Prompto's bedroom, he opened the door to find Prompto already in bed. He was sat upright looking at the daisy photograph from earlier on his camera screen, he noticed Cor and looked up.   
  
“It's a good photograph Cor, thank you again.” He switched the camera off and placed it on his bedside table.   
  
“I'm glad that you like it.”  
  
Prompto nodded sleepily as he tucked himself under the bedclothes.  
  
“Good night Prompto, sleep well.” __  
  
“G'night.” Prompto mumbled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a shorter chapter but an important one. 
> 
> I'm sorry for not uploading anything for some time, but I'm getting back into the swing of things :) 
> 
> I've made a tumblr! https://its-polaroid-memories.tumblr.com/
> 
> Feel free to follow and message me about ffxv! :) 
> 
> Thanks for all the kind comments and kudos!   
> Here's to more chapters more frequently!


	5. Glistening Winter

Around two months ago Prompto had been taken in by Cor. Since then Gladiolus had been spending every Saturday at Cor's place, and he'd come to Noctis's apartment every Saturday evening full of anecdotes and cheer. It's not that Ignis minded it was certainly interesting to hear Gladio's tales about Prompto, the curiosity however was beginning to nibble away at him. 

At first it was just during quiet moments of the day whilst driving or organising papers, little thoughts would pop up wondering about various things, and eventually Ignis began to fixate on some of the finer details of Gladiolus's stories to the point of distraction. 

He just had to find out, what was Prompto like? To what extent did his brainwashing effect him? How was Cor coping with the rehabilitation? There were some questions he felt would be far to intrusive to ask, especially considering how protective Gladiolus was of Prompto. 

Ignis however, hated having something in his life with this much mystery about it, clouding his thoughts with unknowns, haunting him with hidden possibilities. So Ignis had gone ahead despite his initial reservations and arranged with Gladiolus and Cor so that he could come and pay Prompto a visit. 

Ignis sat in his car on the driveway of the Amicitia estate waiting for Gladiolus to appear from the house. He'd agreed to pick up Gladiolus so that they could arrive at Cor's place together, he'd found himself sitting for over fifteen minutes and was wondering what could be keeping his friend. 

Gladiolus appeared through the doorway looking slightly distressed, he made towards the car at a brisk pace. Iris appeared next, she was chasing her brother and throwing what appeared to be foam at him. Gladiolus knocked on the car door, his eyes full of mischief. Ignis debated weather he should unlock the door, he was sure it would be rather entertaining if he let Iris catch up to Gladiolus, however he thought better of it and let Gladiolus inside. Gladiolus leapt into the seat and closed the car door just in time to see the splat of bubbles against the passenger side window. 

“Oh no!” Iris exclaimed as she and ran over to the car.

Gladiolus rolled down the window and taunted his sister. “Looks like you missed!” He boasted.

“Gladdy, I swear! I'm sorry Ignis!” 

“It's quite alright Iris, it was just soap after all. No harm done.” 

“Yeah- It's clearly Glad's fault anyway! He started it!” Iris was incredibly defensive, suggesting in fact that she had been the first one to hurl bubbles. Gladiolus confirmed Ignis's suspicion with a single pointed look. 

“Iris, as much as it would be easy to believe that, I don't. For starters you were very easy to deflect the blame and furthermore I notice that you seem surprisingly sud free whereas your brother on the other hand...” Ignis regarded his friends appearance. “He appears to be smothered.”

Iris grinned. “Looks like you found me out! But you can believe he deserved it right?”

“Of that I am sure.” Ignis chuckled.

“Hey!” Gladiolus raised his voice in protest.

“Now, Gladiolus. You can tell me your side on the way, we'd best be going otherwise we'll be late. See you around Iris.”

“See you around Ignis. And Gladdy I'll get you good later!!”

“Don't count on it!” Gladiolus yelled as the car pulled out and headed down the driveway. 

“So, care to explain to be why you appear to be covered in bubbles?”

“I didn't realise I was running late so I asked Iris to finish washing the dishes. She didn't want to, and that meant I was late anyway.” Gladiolus laughed. 

Ignis checked the time on the dashboard, they were already delayed by 23 minutes. Ignis tried to remain composed despite his strong distaste for being late, his face betrayed him. His eyebrows knitting together ever so slightly with annoyance. 

“Don't worry, I'm texting Cor now to let him know we'll be a bit late. These things are casual anyway.” Gladiolus knew.

There were plenty of moments like this in their friendship, they didn't need to talk to each other to know how the other was feeling. Being raised in such close proximity gave them this skill, especially since they both had to wrangle Noctis. Wordless communication was valuable for them. Ignis certainly appreciated it.

It seemed they had some luck on their sides today as the traffic on the way to Cor's house was minimal, meaning they weren't that late. 

As they arrived Ignis was feeling more apprehensive than he was comfortable with, there were no resources you could use to prepare yourself for this particular situation. Of course he'd been listening to Gladiolus intently and devouring Cor's intermittent update reports as soon as they were forwarded to the the Citadel, but reminding himself of that did nothing to relieve his unease. 

Gladiolus casually exited the car and headed to the front door. Ignis retrieved his ingredients from the car boot. They had been carefully packed into a cooler, he picked it up and joined Gladiolus at the door. 

The door opened and they entered. Ignis took his shoes off in the foot-well and stepped up, noticing that Gladiolus had not bothered to do the same. Before he could chide Gladiolus his gaze was met with the young man he assumed must be Prompto. Ignis didn't mean to stare for quite so long, there was something incredibly striking about this person, the light hair, freckled skin, fair complexion and piercing blue eyes. Ignis adjusted his glasses in order to break the stare. 

“This is Prompto!” Gladiolus announced joyfully. “And Prompto, this is my friend Ignis.”

Prompto stepped forward and offered his hand to Ignis. “It's nice to meet you.” his voice was polite, and slightly robotic, maybe even rehearsed in this instance. Ignis took his hand in a firm handshake. 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, I've heard much about you from our mutual friend.” Ignis noticed that Prompto was silently mouthing the word acquaintance. It was curious.

“What about me Prompto?” Gladiolus piped up, Prompto turned quickly to face him and hugged him aggressively. Gladiolus let out a playful grunt. “Hey careful, you might crush me.” 

“Impossible! Gladiolus is too strong!” Prompto smiled widely “I've missed you Gladiolus.... But... why are you, wet?” Prompto patted his hands around on Gladiolus's torso noticing some significant wet spots with a bemused look. 

“My sister was throwing dishwater and soap at me before I left.” 

“Why?” 

“I asked her to wash up and she didn't want to, this was just her way telling me to do it myself!” Gladiolus chuckled.

“Oh.” Prompto blinked slowly, and then finished the hug with one final squeeze as Gladiolus briefly ruffled Prompto's hair. 

This whole exchange was quite a surreal display, Ignis had only seen him be this affectionate around Iris. His relationship with Prompto was very interesting.

Cor leant out of the kitchen doorway griping a hot cup of coffee in his hands, he gestures towards it “Hey, I've made a whole pot of this so you can come through and help yourselves.” 

“That would be delightful. Would you mind if I started preparing lunch too? I'm making a simple stew, it would be beneficial to let it simmer for at least two hours before serving.”

“Go right ahead.” Cor replied as he slipped back into the room. As Ignis walked into the room Cor spoke again. “Sorry, I've been getting behind on these.” he was referring to the mission reports he had arranged around his seat at the table. 

“I can imagine, no need to apologise Marshal.” Ignis had located the coffee machine and began pouring himself a cup. 

“I'm just going to finish up this reading but, please use the kitchen as you would your own.”   
“Thank you.” Ignis placed his cup on the centre of the table and began to unpack his ingredients from the cooler onto the worktop. 

He looked around in a few cupboards trying to find a big pot to cook everything in. He encountered approximately twenty cartoons of Cup Noodles in the first cupboard he checked, in the second a huge plastic tub full of rice and many, many cans of curry. He raised an eyebrow to himself. It appeared that Cor didn't believe in balanced meals but Ignis understood how busy the Marshal was, so he felt it best not to mention anything. He was about to open another cupboard when he sensed someone standing behind him. 

“What are you looking for?” Prompto enquired.

Ignis turned to face him “I'm looking for a stock pot, or a very large sauce pan with a lid.” 

“Oh!” Prompto went to the furthest cupboard and pulled out a large stock pot. “Here!”

“Thank you.” Ignis smiled at Prompto, who smiled back widely and stayed, hovering near Ignis. 

Gladiolus had walked in just behind Prompto and taken a seat on the other side of the table. He struck up a low conversation with Cor, Ignis listened in as he begun to prepare the meal. They were just making general chit chat about Prompto's condition. The sound of their chattering was a warm and welcome background noise.

Ignis successfully located a chopping board and a knife, he set those on the worktop. He then reached for an onion and begun to peel the outer layer of brown papery skin away. The whole time Prompto was stood, watching him eagerly with a face full of intrigue. 

“Wh- what is that?” he asked timidly.

“An onion Prompto.” Ignis was startled by the question but answered calmly. He began to wonder, what kind of life must someone have lived to ask that kind of a question? And how bad was Cor's diet if Prompto hadn't seen an onion before? 

“Onion? What does it do?” 

At this point Cor had buried his face in his reports.

“It's an ingredient Prompto, food. You've probably already eaten it before it was just incorporated into the meal.” 

Prompto looked confused, he was hanging back from Ignis a little. Ignis grew concerned for Prompto, he didn't know where his food came from, he couldn't go outside. He essentially knew nothing. 

“If you want to Prompto you can come closer, and I'll show you how all these fresh ingredients become a meal. Would you like that?” Ignis offered, the best recourse for this situation was simply to educate the man.

“Y-Yes, this looks a lot more complicated than when Cor cooks.” Prompto's blunt admittance had a visible effect on Cor's posture as he grimaced and hunched even further into the reports. 

Ignis properly explained what each ingredient was as he prepared it, he took the time to show Prompto each step in the cooking process. Prompto nodded along enthusiastically and even asked if he could help out. Ignis of course obliged, he was surprised by how fast Prompto was picking these tasks up.

“Okay we're done, now we just need to wait for it to simmer so the meat can become tender. It'll be ready in about two hours.” Ignis placed the lid carefully onto the pot. “Well done Prompto.”

“Th-Thank you Ignis, I. I've only just met you, and you've been so kind.” 

“That's very gracious of you to say Prompto, and thank you for your help. I'm sure lunch will be delicious.” Ignis starting to understand Gladiolus's fondness for Prompto. His vocabulary was limited that didn't mean the man was unintelligent. In fact quite the opposite. He was eager to learn, even in the face of all the injustice he'd been subjected to. Ignis was starting to feel assured that Prompto would be able to be fully rehabilitated. 

“You've both been surprisingly quiet throughout all of this.” Ignis addressed Cor and Gladiolus. 

“Don't know 'bout Cor, but I was just enjoying seeing you two get along so well.” Gladiolus offered. 

Prompto was smiling very broadly and Ignis couldn't help but smile along. Ignis thought Prompto was like sunshine, ironically, his personality seemed to light up the room and his joy was infectious. 

“Should we head to the sitting room?” Cor asked, stacking his papers into a pile. 

“Yeah. We'll be waitin' a while anyway.” Gladiolus answered. 

As they were exiting the kitchen Cor caught Ignis by the arm. 

“I'm very grateful for you taking that time with Prompto, I admit I'm ...” Cor seemed to be struggling to get his words out. Ignis had a strong feeling the Marshal's pride was proving to be a stumbling block. “I've never cooked like that for myself before and, I fear I've... I've done wrong by Prompto for sticking to my old habits.” he exhaled steadily.

“It's fine. In honesty Cor, I admire what you're doing here with Prompto, it's astounding. You've been tasked with such an immense responsibility, and as much as I have a personal distaste for pre-prepared meals I'm not going to hold it against you.” 

Cor looked visibly relieved. “I should've known somehow. You've always been very reasonable Ignis. Thank you.” 

They made their way into the sitting room, Ignis could hear Prompto rambling excitedly. He was showing Gladiolus a camera and explaining in a lot of detail how to operate it. Gladiolus was listening, of course he knew how to use a camera but being who he is, he let Prompto go through the process. 

Cor sat down a worn couch and gestured to one of the armchairs indicating to Ignis where he could sit. Ignis took the seat politely. 

“Gladiolus and Prompto are quite close aren't they?” Ignis remarked.

“Yes, I am grateful to Clarus for that. Initially I was going to try and rehabilitate Prompto without involving anyone else. I don't want to inconvenience anyone. Clarus suggested that Prompto should meet someone nearer to his age, and convinced me it was a good idea to have Gladiolus meet him.” Cor smiled, looking on as Prompto was showing Gladiolus something he found extremely interesting on the camera's display screen. “It didn't take them long to get this close, it's heart warming.” 

“Quite.” 

Prompto came to sit down next to Cor, Gladiolus took the second arm chair. 

“Feel dizzy again Cor.” Prompto stated, tilting his head back to rest on the sofa cushion behind him.

“Nauseous?” Cor spared to time asking.

“No just dizzy and... weak.” 

“Just try to rest, let me know if you need anything.” Cor stated calmly, though his eyes were wide with concern.

“Hey Prom, you should've said somethin' before. Are you okay?” Gladiolus asked. 

“I- I'm sorry, I was fine before just.” He pulled himself upright again, looking pained. “Y-yesterday I, I was impatient and I tried to advance the treatment too quickly-”

“Prompto. It's just as much my fault too. I shouldn't have let you.” Cor cut in. 

“But Sub- But I pushed you. I pushed you to let me try it.” Prompto argued back feebly. 

“Try what exactly?” Ignis probed.

“I persuaded Cor to let me step outside fully. I didn't take any physical damage but, it had a negative effect. Now I can't do my routine treatment. I can't even put my finger into the sunlight it hurts too much.” Tears began to form in the corners of Prompto's eyes. “I'm... I'm going to be a failure.”

“Hey, hey.” Gladiolus spoke up immediately. “Prompto, look at me.” 

Prompto raised his head to meet his friends gaze. “Yes?”

“Recovering takes time, and patience. You'll have bad days, but it's not the end buddy. You're allowed to have set backs.” Gladiolus's words were passionate.

“Gladiolus- I- I-” the tears fell. “You're too kind...” 

Ignis spoke up, compelled by Gladiolus's compassion. “He's right though Prompto, to be frank, the progress you've made so far is astounding. You shouldn't admonish yourself, you should be proud of how far you've come.” 

Prompto nodded slowly, as he listened to Ignis. Mouthing the Ignis's words silently after him like a mirror, again. 

“Thank you. Both. I... feel better for hearing you say these things.” He said with his hand on his chest. 

Ignis noticed throughout the exchange that Cor had been smiling. Ignis was used to the Marshal being stern and serious, but this was something else. He found himself feeling relieved that Prompto had such a kind and caring guardian. 

Prompto curled up in his seat resting his head on the arm of the sofa. “I'm going to have a nap.” he announced before slowly closing his eyes. 

Whilst Prompto was resting the others passed the time catching up, Cor was keen to learn how his team were getting on without him and how the new recruits were getting along. Gladiolus and Ignis kindly filled him in.

Before they new it the timer on Ignis's phone started to chime. The noise startled Prompto, waking him from his nap. 

He looked extremely distressed, his eyes flitted around his surroundings. 

“Prompto! Hey!” Cor caught his ward's attention, he visibly relaxed. “Another bad dream?”

“Yeah. Just a dream, just a dream.” Prompto sounded as though he was trying to reassure himself. 

“I do hope you are hungry after your nap, lunch is ready.” 

“Yes! I am!” The joy picked up Prompto's expression into a broad crooked grin.

“I'll go serve it up, I'll call you when it's ready.” Ignis

Stew was served into mismatched crockery and set upon the table, accompanied by home made bread rolls that Ignis had brought with him. 

“It's ready!” 

Prompto was the first to come in, he eagerly took his seat. He started down at the food with wide eyes. “It smells really good!”

Everyone else took their seats and dug in, they were all enjoying the food but the group was certainly concentrating on Prompto waiting for a reaction. He shoved spoonfuls into his mouth finishing the entire bowl in under two minutes. 

“I- Ignis!” 

“Yes?” 

“How, how do you do that? It tastes, really good. I... I don't..” Prompto stuttered. “I don't know how to describe this... it's... so much better than anything I've ever eaten. Why don't you cook like this Cor?” 

The colour drained from Cor's face. “I- I never learnt how to Prompto I'm sorry.” 

“But. It's just better.” 

Cor looked mortified, he clearly had no clue what to say in the face of Prompto's brutal honesty.

“If you like Prompto, I can teach you how to cook.” Ignis suggested. 

“I-I, yes!” 

“Then it's settled.” 

“Is there any more left?” Prompto asked.

“I made plenty.” Ignis took Prompto's bowl from him and filled it again from the pot. “There's at least three more servings left now, here you are Prompto.”

He took the bowl from Ignis's hands graciously, and against Ignis's expectations, he ate this bowl more slowly. Savouring the taste. 

By the time everyone was full there wasn't a single drop of stew left. Given Gladiolus had been cheeky and had taken his third, and the final portion. Cor insisted he be the one to clean up despite the fact that everyone else had offered too, he was stubborn and won out. Gladiolus and Ignis started idly talking about their week, Prompto interjected occasionally, asking questions. Ignis enjoyed answering them, it made him feel like he was contributing to Prompto's growth.

After some time, Prompto blurted out. “Ignis, sometimes I don't understand what you're saying.” 

Ignis was stunned into silence, he sat there looking at Prompto blankly. He'd never considered it before but his vocabulary was quite diverse. He found himself analysing all of his interactions with Prompto since they met earlier that day. He recalled the few occasions where Prompto had looked lost and even mimicked him, but he'd assumed (quite incorrectly) that it was just a character quirk. 

“Prompto, I'm so sorry. Please tell me if you ever need a me to explain anything.” 

“Thank you, I'm going to try harder too, the words you use are so... Uh...” Prompto's face screwed up as he tried to think. “Different, different to the ones that Cor and Gladiolus use... This is so frustrating. I wish could describe it.” Prompto's eyes suddenly lit up, he reached for his camera and flicked through the images. “It's like this. He stood up slowly and walked over to Ignis showing him. When you talk, you make me feel the same as when I look at this flower.” 

Ignis raised an eyebrow, wondering where Prompto was taking this train of thought.

“This daisy stands out, it's bright and colourful and I don't really understand it and makes me feel... good? When I hear you talk Ignis it reminds me of this picture.” 

Ignis found himself stunned again. Prompto was an enigma, he clearly had sharp mind but it was obstructed, nevertheless his intellect was undeniable. 

“That's beautiful Prompto. Thank you.” He was truly touched by Prompto's kind comparison. 

“Beautiful?” This time Prompto asked, instead of mimicking. 

“You can call something beautiful when it makes you feel good, it can be an object or an action. Like that daisy, or how I felt just now when you compared me to it.”

“You're beautiful Ignis.” Prompto stated, as a matter of fact.

Gladiolus had a huge grin on his face. Ignis could tell from his look that Prompto's innocent statement would become a running joke. 

“Thank you very much Prompto.” Ignis replied coolly. 

Prompto beamed.

In hindsight, Ignis felt very foolish for ever being nervous about this meeting and found himself thinking that he was going to get used to this. He had after all promised Prompto that he would teach him how to cook. 

It would be the start of a very fulfilling friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look another chapter!
> 
> I'm feeling pretty productive right now :D
> 
> My tumblr is https://its-polaroid-memories.tumblr.com/, if you like message me about FFXV! and also send me prompts? I can't promise i'll fill them but i'm always up for a challenge >:D 
> 
> A special shoutout to Lux_Et_Tenebrea for being a total cutie and providing encouragement to keep working
> 
> As always thanks for all the kind comments and kudos!


	6. Low Pressure

He had been dozing on the couch, he could hear Cor on the phone in the kitchen, which was fairly normal. He thought nothing of it until he heard his name.

“... I know that. Listen to me Prompto is... Yes but isn't there anyway you could make a house visit?”

Cor's tone was too serious to be any of their friends. Then who?

“I'm not sure that would be the best thing to do... Okay. Okay. Fine, we'll have to come after dark though. Okay bye.”

Cor walked back through to the sitting room with his hands rubbing the sides of his forehead. Prompto had learned his was the behavioural pattern Cor exhibited when he was under stress.

“Something is wrong.” Prompto stated.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“I'm worried about you Prompto. Your condition hasn't really improved over the past week. We're... going to have to go back to the Medical Research Centre.”

He didn’t know what to say, only that he hoped he’d never have to go back there. It reminded him too much of Base. Dark and cold and researchers everywhere. And wasn’t tomorrow Saturday? He’d miss Gladiolus and Ignis.  
  
“I don’t want to go! I-”  
  
“I know.” Cor enveloped Prompto in his arms protectively. “It wasn’t my first choice, but I’m… I’m scared. I don’t want to lose you.”  
  
“What do you mean? Lose me? I’m here…” Prompto was confused, although he was appreciative of the embrace. It was warm and soft.  
  
Cor didn’t respond, though it was often like this, Prompto would ask questions that were never answered. It was something he’d come to accept. Even so it was a large step up from Base where he’d be severely punished for even asking a question in the first place.  
  
“It’s your health I’m worried about Prompto. I just want to make sure you are going to be okay, I- I can’t stand the thought of you being sick any longer.”  
  
There was that word again. Sick meant unwell, and unwell was just another word for unfit. Unfit for duty, or defective. Cor had tried to reassure him that wasn’t the case, that being sick wasn’t a sign that he was defective, but Prompto was always sceptical of this assessment. He’d been told what happened to units displaying signs of ‘sickness’, they were terminated. Then it made sense, Prompto understood what Cor meant by ‘lose you’.  
  
“Cor… will they, terminate me?”    
  
Cor stiffened, he pulled back. His face looked… wrong? Sad? In pain? Prompto couldn’t tell.  
  
“What? No! We… We don’t do that here Prompto. We would never do that.”  
  
Cor gripped him again, only tighter this time, the contact was reassuring. He felt calmer, though not by much.  
  
“Then, what will happen Cor? I’m… upset. I can’t… think how to say it but, going back is… undesirable.”  
  
“They just want to take a few samples and hold you in for observation. I’ll be with you as much as I can. I promise.”  
  
He lifted his arms and squeezed Cor back tightly.  
  
“Th- Thank you.”  
  
He’d have to endure it, he wouldn’t even be in this position if he’d listened to Cor. He regretted his defiance, he was blindly focussed on results without taking into account the risks. Now he could barely go a few hours without feeling dizzy or needing to nap. His body felt weak, too weak.  
  
“Come on, we’re going to have to pack some clothes for you.”  
  
Clothes? That was one good thing at least he wouldn’t have to wear that weird scratchy thing they’d put him in last time. Prompto nodded, letting go of Cor and following him upstairs.

* * *

They were leaving for the Citadel in the dead of night, meaning it was safe to go outside or at least, safe from the sun. He didn’t like it though, it was too dark, everything around him was bathed in a weird shade of blue. And it was cold, he shivered and pulled the borrowed jacket closer around his body. Cor opened the car door and asked Prompto to sit inside whilst he put their luggage in the trunk.    
  
He remembered the car from the time when Cor had taken him from the Medical Research Centre to his new home. He hadn’t much energy back then to concentrate on anything other than trying to keep all of his vomit in the bucket and not all over the inside of the vehicle. Prompto examined his surroundings, the console in front of him was all hard cold surfaces with many different buttons and knobs and switches, all with unfamiliar symbols next to them. He took care not to press anything on the console, since he did not know what any of them did.  
  
He stroked the material at of the seat, it was cold at first, but warmed up with prolonged contact. He noticed the texture was similar to that of the jacket Cor had lent him, soft and supple. He wondered why the smell of the material reminded him of Gladiolus.  
  
A bout of dizziness took Prompto by surprise, he leant back into the seat to try and relieve the effect. He hated it so much, a constant reminder of his failure. He heard the car door open and close again, the weight in the car shifted subtly as Cor took his seat. It wasn’t much but enough to make Prompto’s head feel like it was spinning around.  
  
“Cor, I’m dizzy again.” Prompto closed his eyes, trying to further control his dizzy spell.  
  
“Do you think you’d feel better if you were lying down?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“I can lower the seat, would you like me to?”  
  
“Yes please.”  
  
“Okay, try to sit up straight whilst I drop the back of the chair down.”  
  
Prompto heard a clicking noise from behind him, he wanted to turn to see how this mechanism worked but he was afraid of aggravating his current condition.  
  
“Okay you can lie down now.”  
  
Prompto lay backwards, he found his dizziness settled. He opened his eyes and looked up through the window on the roof of the car, noticing how clear the sky was. Cor double checked Prompto was comfortable before starting the engine.  
  
Prompto fixed his gaze through the window. Cor had informed him the small window was called a ‘sunroof’, it was confusing to Prompto since it was neither a sun or a roof but he didn’t have enough energy to ask about. He instead focused on all the stars passing by in the sky as the car advanced towards the Citadel, they were… beautiful.

* * *

“Hey, Prompto wake up. We’re here.” Cor shook Prompto gently.  
  
He realised that he must’ve fallen asleep on the way.  
  
“Already?” he felt a familiar sensation rise up, he’d learnt to call it ‘feeling nervous’.  
  
They exited the car and proceeded towards the entrance, just looking up at the grey looming building made Prompto feel like he wanted to run away. Go back home. To his soft bed and hide from all this. He gripped onto Cor’s sleeve tightly as they walked towards a set of security barriers.  
  
A guard came out to greet them, he knew Cor by name. They spoke casually but Prompto couldn’t concentrate on what they were talking about. His nervous feelings were interacting with his sickness in a really unpleasant way.    
  
He trailed behind Cor during the security check procedure, struggling to stay on his own two feet.  
  
He was brought to a medical examination room and was asked to sit on a bed, he reluctantly let go of Cor’s sleeve. Cor retrieved his jacket from Prompto and helped him up onto the bed, giving his shoulder a big squeeze before he was asked to step aside.  
  
Prompto felt relieved to finally be seated again, taking a few moments to appreciate the comfort. He knew what was coming next and braced himself whilst the medical staff prepared their equipment. He recognised this room too, dark and lit only with emergency lighting, he remembered how they had to switch off the main lights last time he was here. Obviously they had to accommodate for his condition, even if it was slightly more difficult for them to work on him.  
  
“Prompto isn’t it?” a woman spoke his name.  
  
“Y-Yes?” he wasn’t used to this kind of treatment from medical staff, the use of his name shocked him.  
  
“We’re just going to take a blood sample, okay?”  
  
“Okay.”    
  
The contrast in his treatment bothered Prompto. He’d been there only a few months ago, and from what he could recall it was just the same as Base. Researchers and Doctors buzzing around, looking for results and taking whatever they needed from him to complete their tests. This was a strange experience.  
  
“Okay, I’m just going to disinfect the area and try to find a nice vein to draw from.”  
  
He was entranced, no one had ever bothered to explain what they were doing before. He watched as the woman wiped his arm down, and visually inspected the area.  
  
“That vein looks like a good one. I’m just going to apply the tourniquet now… There we go. Are you ready?”  
  
He nodded. Staring as she carefully inserted the blood collection needle into his arm. He watched as she filled six vials with his blood, expertly and quickly. It was mesmerizing to watch the tubes fill up. She handed each one to her aid who immediately placed them in a box and pressed the lid on tight. She removed the needle and placed a piece of cotton over the wound as she removed the tourniquet.  
  
“Could you hold down the cotton pad for me? I just need to get a dressing for the wound.”  
  
“Yes.” his head was swimming, he started to feel unsteady. He wobbled. The woman returned just in time to stabilize him. She quickly applied the dressing.  
  
“You should lie down.”  
  
He complied, he turned and placed his legs on the bed, carefully lowering his head down onto the pillow.  
  
Memories flashed through his mind of Base. Of being injected over and over again until all his veins collapsed. Of all the times samples had been collected from him and he’d been left to sit in the corner of a small metal room no bigger than his current bedroom closet, slumped against the wall in complete darkness.    
  
He felt wrong. When he was at home with Cor it was easier to focus on his new life, and he definitely found it more agreeable to live that way. But here. Here was confusing and difficult. Uncomfortable. It reminded him of the black barcode stuck on his wrist. It reminded him he was a Subject. All the kindness in the world couldn’t shift that feeling.  
  
He began to feel the pull of sleep, his eyelids heavy.  
  
“How’re you now?”  
  
“Sleepy.”  
  
“Do you think you could sit up?”  
  
Prompto nodded, gently pulling himself up to a seated position. He didn’t feel quite as dizzy as before.  
  
“I think we’d better get you to your room. Cor, it’s observation room three.”  
  
Cor stepped up offering a hand out for Prompto, he took it, easing up off of the bed slowly until he was stood on his feet. Cor wrapped his arm around Prompto’s back and under his armpit to support him.  
  
“You can lean on me whilst you walk.”  
  
“Th-Thank you Cor.”  
  
The woman opened the door “Hope you settle in nicely Prompto, I’ll be seeing you around!”  
  
“S-See you?” Prompto managed, confused at her happy tone.  
  
Cor lead Prompto through successive ambiently lit corridors and double doors, until eventually they stopped in a small annex.  
  
Cor pushed through a set of doors that lead into small room, there wasn’t much inside just a small desk with a chair facing a large window. Prompto looked through to see that the room on the other side contained a bed, an armchair and a small bathroom area in the corner that was sectioned off by a black curtain. It was lit entirely by the same type of dim nightlights that were scattered around their own home.  
  
“That’s the room you’ll be staying in Prompto. I’ll try and stay with you but they can be strict about visitors here.”  
  
“Okay.” he tried to be strong even though the thought of Cor having to leave distressed him.  
  
Cor helped Prompto onto the bed so he could lie down properly. He then produced a blanket from Prompto’s bag, it was the blanket he normally used when he took a nap on the couch. Cor unfurled it and placed it over Prompto, he was grateful and snuggled into it. The scent was warm and welcoming, it soothed him.  
  
“Thank you Cor. I’m tired so, I’m going to sleep.”    
  
“Okay Prompto, like I said I’ll try and stay here, but I might be gone when you wake up.”  
  
“Okay…” Prompto mumbled, drifting off with the smell of home comforting him.

* * *

He awoke in a daze and rubbed his eyes and scanning the room for Cor, he wasn’t around. Prompto could feel himself panic, he tried his best to remain calm.  
  
He noticed that someone had wheeled a trolley into the room next to his bed, placed upon it were several bottles of water. Upon realising how thirsty he was he took one bottle and completely drained its contents, not sure where to put the empty bottle he placed it carefully back on the trolley.  
  
He had no idea what time it was or how long he’d been asleep for, he felt the need to stretch out his limbs. He felt stiff, the bed here wasn’t as comfortable as the one at home.  
  
He rose, taking the blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders for comfort. He paced for a while until his legs felt sufficiently stretched. He tried to familiarise himself with the room whilst he was walking around, his eyes roaming around steel surfaces.  
  
The last time he was in this building he’s been put in a detainment cell, this was very different. Though the cold metal and reinforced windows still echoed of Base. He tried to fight those old memories. But they persisted. He climbed back into bed pulling his blanket even tighter around him, trying desperately to think of home.

* * *

He must have drifted off again, he was woken by the feeling of a heavy hand squeezing his shoulder. He opened his eyes and turned around.  
  
“Hello.” Cor said softly.  
  
Prompto beamed, he was relieved. “You’re here!”  
  
“Yes, I am.” Cor smiled back at him. “I’ve come with some breakfast. Hope you’re hungry.”  
  
“Yes!”  
  
“You wanna move to the chair?”  
  
He nodded, climbing out of bed and sitting down quickly. “Thank you Cor! ”    
  
He was passed a fork and a plate, it had some toasted bread, bacon and, some kind of weird round food that was white with a yellow centre.  
  
“Cor, what food is this? I know bacon and toast but, what are these?” he asked pointing at the two the round items on his plate with the fork.  
  
Cor explained. “They are called eggs. They are made by various types of birds, these ones happen to be birdbeast eggs.”  
  
“Eggs…” He repeated poking at the yellow part of the egg with his fork cautiously, and was surprised when yellow sauce flowed out and flooded his plate. He looked up at Cor confused.  
  
Cor smiled. “It’s okay Prompto, just use your toast to wipe up the yolk.”  
  
‘Yolk’ that must be the yellow bit. He picked up the toast and swiped it through the yolk, and took a bite. It was quite a pleasant taste, though he had trouble defining what made it nice.  
  
He ate the rest of the meal quickly, not realizing how hungry he’d been.  
  
“Thank you Cor.” he smiled, still clutching the plate, he looked around the room unsure of what to do with it. Eventually Cor took the plate from him and placed it on the trolley.  
  
“How are you doing?”  
  
Prompto couldn’t answer, he had been trying to ignore his feelings since he arrived, he couldn’t do anything about the situation after all. It was his own fault he was here. Prompto looked over at Cor, seeing that pained face he made whenever he was ‘concerned’, which just made Prompto feel worse.  
  
“Cor, I’m sorry. I- I’m not feeling any better and, this place…”  
  
“I know. I’m sorry too.” Cor walked up to the armchair and pulled Prompto against his body in an awkward hug.  
  
Prompto clung onto Cor’s legs, pushing down his urge to cry.  
  
“I think you’re doing great Prompto- Really, this place makes me feel uncomfortable too.”  
  
“That- That makes me feel better. If you don’t like it either.”  
  
“To be honest Prompto, there isn’t much to like.” Cor admitted earning a small chuckle from Prompto.  
  
Cor was usually serious and factual, when he spoke like this it made Prompto feel happy.  
  
“I’ve got about two hours until I need to go again, want to play some cards until then?”  
  
“Yes- I do. I’m going to win this time!” Prompto proclaimed.   

* * *

He sat in the chair listlessly gazing through the large window of the isolation chamber, hoping Cor would return soon, he’d left a while ago but Prompto had no way to tell how long that was. He got excited when the door on the far side of the observation room opened, only to be disappointed when someone came through he did not recognise. The stranger came up to the glass and peered into the room gaze fixing on Prompto. He looked superior somehow. Prompto got up and walked over to the window, staring, taking in the others features. Dark hair, very pale skin, and deep blue eyes. The eyes entranced Prompto, he thought he hadn’t seen anything that blue in his whole life.   
  
The other man waved at him and smiled. Prompto was confused but reciprocated, slowly raising his hand and waving back.  
  
More people came in. First Cor, then Gladiolus and Ignis! They stopped and spoke to the unknown man, smiling and laughing with each other, Prompto wished he could hear them but the thick window and walls of the room didn’t let any sound through.  
  
The door of his chamber opened, the four men walked through together.  
  
“Hey Prompto! We came to see how you were doing!” Gladiolus announced.  
  
“I-I…” he felt that strange lump in his throat, the one that let him know he was going to cry.  
  
“We brought someone to see you too, this is Noctis.” Ignis added introducing the stranger to him.  
  
Noctis? The Prince? He has been rude. Prompto bowed deeply in front of Noctis. “I’m sorry I did not realise you were royalty. Please, accept my apology.”  
  
Noctis rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “You don’t need to do that. It’s fine.”  
  
“Oh! I’m sorry!” Prompto straightened up, standing to attention. He’d learnt that you should always be respectful of royalty.  
  
“No really, that’s not necessary. I’m not really into all that ‘standing on ceremony’ stuff.” Noctis replied politely.  
  
He didn’t know what to think, Noctis was the Prince but he acted like no royalty Prompto had ever met. What did standing on ceremony mean? They weren’t holding a ceremony. Did Noctis want to sit down? Did Noctis want him to sit down?  
  
“I’m- I’m sorry I just… I don’t understand. Do you want me to sit down?”    
  
“No? Not unless you want to. Sorry, I just meant you can relax. I’m the Prince but you can just treat me the same way you treat your friends. I don’t like to cause a fuss.” Noctis said, brushing past Prompto to the armchair, he sat in it sideways, dangling one leg over the arm.    
  
“Oh.”  
  
It was all he could manage to say. He’d heard from Gladiolus that Noctis was an unconventional Prince, but nothing could’ve prepared him for this. He stood there frozen, not sure how to react.  
  
“Prompto, are you okay?” Cor asked.  
  
“Y-Yes.” Cor guided Prompto over to the bed to sit down, where they joined by Ignis.  
  
Gladiolus had opted to stand, leaning casually with one elbow on the armchair Noctis was occupying.  
  
“I’m glad I finally get to meet you, Gladio and Ignis don’t stop talking about you. Especially Gladio.” Noctis said as he poked Gladiolus in the ribs then turning and smiling at Prompto.  
  
“Is- Is that true Gladiolus? You talk about me?” he asked with curiosity.  
  
“Well, yeah. Kinda hard not to Prompto you’re amazing.”    
  
“Your face is going red, are you okay?” Prompto asked, he hadn’t seen Gladiolus look like that before.  
  
“Yeah… ‘m fine.” Gladiolus mumbled.  
  
Noctis laughed. “You sure have a soft side don’t you big guy?”  
  
“Can it Noct.”  
  
“Can it?” Prompto echoed Gladiolus’s words.  
  
“He’s telling Noctis to be quiet, it seems he’s a little embarrassed about showing his affection for you Prompto.” Ignis explained.  
  
“Oh.” his chest was light, like it was going to float away, this feeling only happened when other people said good things about him. He placed his hand over his chest reflexively as if to calm the sensation. Affection, Cor had told him before. It’s when you think about someone and it makes you happy, and that you want to help them. Cor had said in the past that he had a lot of affection for Prompto, and that’s why he would always try to be there when Prompto needed him. And Gladiolus felt the same way?  
  
He found it difficult to say anything to Gladiolus. So he smiled instead at his friend instead, who smiled back.  
  
It didn’t take long for chatter to errupt between Gladiolus, Noctis and Ignis but Prompto was having a hard time trying to keep up with it, they were using too many phrases he didn’t understand, talking about things he’s never heard of and speaking too quickly. Watching them talk so freely and easily made him feel inept. He wanted to take part. It was frustrating. He shied into Cor’s shoulder, taking comfort there, Cor reached for his hand taking it and squeezing it gently.  
  
Ignis addressed him. “I’m sorry Prompto, we’ve been quite rude. It wasn’t our intention to leave you out.”  
  
“I-It’s okay…” he said feebly.  
  
“No it’s not, we came here to see you.” Gladiolus cut in. “Just Prince Charmless here has the ability to make everything all about himself.”    
  
“Hey!” Noctis protested. “... but yeah, Prompto, sorry.”  
  
“O-Okay?” he was confused, why would a Prince apologise to him? It was all getting overwhelming. And worse still he was starting to feel dizzy again. He tightened his grip on Cor’s hand, hugging into him even more. He felt hot, he broke out in a sweat.  
  
“Hey, hey Prompto, you should lie down.” Cor stated.  
  
Ignis stood up immediately, letting Cor place Prompto down on the bed. Then came the same old question.  
  
“Are you nauseous?”  
  
“No, Cor. Just dizzy. Again.” He didn’t want to cry. He didn’t want to cry in front of Cor, and his friends, and the Crown Prince of Insomnia. He didn’t want to. But the tears came anyway.  
  
He gripped himself tightly, his fingernails digging into his arms, though he didn’t notice until Cor said something. “Prompto, please stop doing that, you’ll hurt yourself.”  
  
He relaxed his hands immediately and spat out the thought that was consuming him in between heaving sobs. “Subject is not viable.”  
  
“Prompto.” Cor sounded weird, strangled even. He sat on the bed next to Prompto and stroked his hair. “You are viable. Absolutely. Your illness doesn’t dictate what or who you are. Please, know that.”  
  
“S-sorry, I just feel like I’m never going to be well again.” he managed, looking up through blurry eyes he could just make out that familiar pained face Cor made. He tried to look towards the others but they were indistinguishable dark shadows, obscured by tearful eyes. “I didn’t want to do this now, when everyone is here… I- I-.” the sobbing took over again.  
  
“Prompto- we can come back later, if you’d rather?” Gladiolus spoke up sounding tense. .  
  
“It might be for the best, giving you some space.” Ignis added.  
  
Noctis was silent. Prompto was afraid he might have offended the Prince but he just couldn’t think properly. His head felt full, awful thoughts kept intruding on him. He couldn’t even answer his friends. All he could do was cry, his chest heaving involuntarily.  
  
“Yeah, you best leave. I’ll stay, and try to work this out. I’ll drop you all a text okay?”  
  
“Okay. Goodbye Prompto, we’ll see you soon.” Ignis said.  
  
“Yeah, we’ll see ya.” Gladiolus tagged on.  
  
Still nothing from Noctis. He heard all three of them exit the room, leaving Cor.  
  
He was relieved that they wouldn’t have to listen to him crying any longer.  
  
“I’m sorry Prompto, Clarus convinced me that meeting Noctis would help you take your mind off of everything. I guess it was too much at once.” Cor sighed.    
  
“I’m tired of this Cor. I’m tired of not being able to keep up, tired of forgetting my new designation and I’m… so… frustrated with myself for delaying my own progress. And I’m already tired of this room. I want to go home.”      
  
“I know, but we need to stay just a while longer.”  
  
“C-Cor, please don’t leave again. I- I…”  
  
“Don’t worry Prompto I’m staying right here. If they think I’m going to leave your side until you’re feeling better, they’ll have to remove me with force.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowowowowow
> 
> This was challenging. So, I'm sorry if it's not the best, but i just had this idea of writing from Prompto's perspective. I hope that it's good enough. 
> 
> My tumblr is https://its-polaroid-memories.tumblr.com/, if you like message me about FFXV! and also send me prompts? Only if you want to or whatever heheh
> 
> ANNND thankyou again for all the kind comments and kudos!
> 
> <>


	7. Sunny Spells

Niflheim. Just who the fuck did they think they were? He was ready for war, but he couldn’t do a single thing.   
  
There must be, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands more like Prompto. It sickened him. He paced in his apartment. Cor hadn’t gotten back to them yet and he was worried. He hadn’t meant to overwhelm Prompto and he felt guilty.   
  
Cor had expressed concerns that maybe they should wait a while, that Prompto wasn’t in the best condition. He should’ve heeded the warning, then maybe Prompto wouldn’t have had such an awful experience meeting him for the first time. But he was impatient and curious, and frankly, jealous. Gladiolus always spoke about Prompto, and he had gotten to be a much more frequent topic of conversation ever since Ignis had met the man too.  
  
“Noctis, calm down,” Ignis said.   
  
“I can’t.”   
  
“Your pacing is drivin’ me crazy, can you at least sit down?” Gladiolus asked   
  
“I just feel so angry-” Noctis dropped himself onto the couch. “-There’s really nothing I can do. As if the reports didn’t screw with me enough. Seeing him in person...”   
  
“Nothing can prepare you for that Noctis. It doesn’t help that we visited him in the worst possible environment,” Ignis said   
  
“... I know,” he replied.   
  
“Hey, I’m angry too but that isn’t going to change anything,” Gladiolus said.   
  
“I still feel awful for overwhelming him,” he admitted.      
  
“We can’t predict everything, and I’m sure Prompto still appreciated the gesture.”   
  
“I guess,” he replied, trying to let Ignis’s words soothe his guilt. They didn’t.   
  
He couldn’t pin down why this situation was bothering him so much. He was well aware of any of the atrocities Niflheim had committed in the name of it’s empire, they were war criminals, nothing that they do should be surprising. Still, seeing Prompto in the flesh was just difficult.   
  
He was fidgeting uncontrollably.   
  
“Noct. If you don’t stop with that twitching I _will_ pin you down!” Gladiolus threatened playfully.   
  
“It’s hard to just sit here and do nothing.”     
  
“You seem to have no issues doing that the rest of the time,” Gladiolus said.     
  
“Oh shut up Glad. This is different,” he snapped back.   
  
“Sorry. I get it though. There’s just something horrible about this whole mess. I believe Prompto will get better though. He was in a way worse state when Cor first took him in.” Unlike Ignis, Gladiolus wasn’t simply trying to comfort Noctis, there was an honesty that rang out in his voice.   
  
A good while later, after lunch had been served and eaten, the group fell into one of their usual activities- playing King’s Knight together. The game was quite addictive sure, but it also had the added benefit of providing a distraction. One that Noctis was currently grateful for, waiting to hear back from Cor was almost excruciating and he didn’t have the patience for casual conversation.   
  
It came as no surprise that Cor’s text interrupted his gameplay, normally he’d have been annoyed. But not now. They were so close to the end of the level that they managed to finish it off before Noctis read the message.   
  
**17:13pm <Cor Leonis> Prompto is doing fine. However he’s having a tough time and given that he was overwhelmed so easily I would ask that you visit him individually from now on. I’m sorry, but I can't risk stressing him any further. I would also ask that you leave it now until tomorrow at the earliest. Thanks.**

“Hey what’s it say?” Gladiolus asked.   
  
“We have to visit him separately, the earliest we can see him is tomorrow. And that, he’s doing fine,” Noctis said solemnly.      
  
“Well, could be worse right?” Gladiolus supplied.   
  
“Yes, I think this is probably the best we could hope for.” Ignis was quick to add.   
  
“...Yeah,” Noctis replied trying to feel positive, but the guilt lingered.   


* * *

“Sir, sir. Please wake up,” A familiar voice penetrated his sleep, he fought through the haze, struggling to open his eyes. He managed to try them open to see the young nurse standing close to the chair he was sleeping in, she looked ready to start shaking him. “It’s time for Prompto’s check up.”  
  
“Ok, thanks,” Cor said groggily.   
  
He rose, and stretched out his limbs slowly, trying to relieve the muscle cramps he’d gotten from falling asleep in that damn chair again.   
  
“Do you mind if I wake him?” Cor asked the nurse as she was readying her equipment.   
  
“Oh! Sure. Yes, that would probably be better!” she seemed flustered by the request, but he paid no mind to it.   
  
He walked over to the bed and sat down on it gently. He reached his hand up Prompto’s shoulder giving him a light nudge. Prompto grunted, sleepily swatting Cor’s hand away.   
  
“Hey, Prompto, you have to wake up.”   
  
Prompto’s eyes slowly peeled open. “Another check up?”   
  
“Yeah, it’s time. Sorry for waking you,” Cor said softly.   
  
“ ‘S okay.” Prompto mumbled, he sat up rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.     
  
The nurse walked over slowly, Cor got up to make room for her, but stood nearby in case Prompto needed him   
  
“Morning Prompto! I’m just going to take your temperature, blood pressure and pulse okay?”   
  
“No more bloods?”   
  
“No, not today,” the nurse smiled softly.   
  
Prompto looked very relieved to hear that. Cor watched on as the nurse carried out her procedures. She was very professional and had a warm bedside manner. It seemed Prompto had gotten used to her since they were having a casual conversation about the desert that came with his lunch earlier. Cor struggled to pay attention, but finally he managed to focus in on what was being said, his mind still foggy from his unplanned armchair nap.   
  
“But, Marcia, I just don’t understand why jello is served, it’s very unpleasant and doesn’t taste of anything at all.”   
  
“You’re not on your own there Prompto, I’m not a fan either,” she said giggling slightly   
  
“If- If it’s being served again today please don’t bring any- I really don’t want to eat it.”   
  
“Okay, I won’t bring it I promise. Okay there we go, all done. Thank you for being so patient as always Prompto,” She said sweetly as she took off the blood pressure cuff and updated his records. Prompto nodded quietly in response, letting out a breath of relief. “Well, I’ll be on my way now. See you in a few hours for dinner Prompto,” she waved goodbye cheerfully.   
  
“Yes. See you later Marcia,” Prompto said politely, waving back rigidly until she turned and left.   
  
“Prompto, I don’t know how you manage to remember everyone’s names,” Cor said.  
  
“There’s only three nurses,” Prompto replied looking puzzled. “That’s not many Cor.”   
  
“I guess I’m not very good with names, how are you feeling?”   
  
“I… I don’t know? Still dizzy but not as bad as before. I want to go home,” Prompto sighed out, exasperated.   
  
“Me too,” Cor said as he walked over and placed his hand on Prompto’s shoulder.   
  
“I miss Gladiolus,-” Prompto confessed, “-will I get to see him again soon?”   
  
“I can message him if you like, they were giving you some time though Prompto.”   
  
“I- I know,” he said, his face falling to a bitter expression, his brow furrowing before he spoke again. “I’m- I’m scared that, that I have disappointed the Prince.”   
  
Cor didn’t know how to respond to this assertion, he certainly wasn’t expecting it. He tried his hardest to recall the events from two days ago. Noctis is very quiet, especially when he’s angry and he is quite hard to read so Cor could understand why Prompto had come to that conclusion.   
  
“I don’t think so Prompto, I believe he was just frustrated by your condition, much like you are.”   
  
Prompto looked at him, his brow knitting further in confusion.   
  
“I don’t understand why he would be so concerned with my welfare.” His tone sounded bitter, ringing of something from his past perhaps.   
  
“Maybe you can ask him yourself sometime,” Cor offered, not entirely sure that was a good response but it was all he had.   
  
“O-Okay,” Prompto replied quietly.   
  
Whilst they had been talking Cor had typed up and quick text to Gladiolus on his phone, he reviewed it.   
  
**4:45pm <Cor Leonis>  Prompto could do with some moral support today, I’d appreciate it if you came around to visit him after 6pm.  
  
** Satisfied with the message he sent it and slipped his phone back into his pocket.   
  
There was a secondary motive for Cor to invite Gladiolus, he was overdue to read the research reports that the medical team had been producing over Prompto’s stay.   
  
He was desperate to see the findings, although he was deeply anxious too. They had taken DNA swabs from Prompto on six separate occasions, and of course the nurses hadn’t a clue why, they just carried out the procedures. Usually once was enough, twice if the sample was insufficient, but six times indicated something abnormal.  
  
Thoughts of possible irregularities flooded Cor’s mind all at once. His expression must have turned sour since Prompto had taken it upon himself to talk, interrupting the unwanted thought spiral.   
  
“Cor?” his voice full of concern.   
  
“Sorry Prompto, my mind is elsewhere.”   
  
“What?”   
  
“I’m thinking about things I shouldn’t be, pay it no notice.”   
  
“Okay.”   
  
His phone chimed in his pocket, Gladiolus had responded rather quickly. 

**4:52pm <Gladiolus Amicitia> Sure thing I’ll be there at 6:30 **   
  
“It’s Gladiolus, he says he can come by this evening after you’ve had dinner.”   
  
A smile broke the frustration on Prompto’s face, leaving a sunny expression that warmly lit up his features. Cor couldn’t help but smile right back at him.     


* * *

True to his word Gladiolus arrived at exactly 6:30pm, he walked through the first set of doors and observed Cor and Prompto through the huge windows of the treatment room. They were both sat on the bed, using a steel wheeled medical table as surface to play cards on, it looked like they’d set up solitaire.  
  
He entered the room sheepishly, still feeling awkward about overwhelming Prompto a couple days back.  
  
“Hi Prompto, Cor,” he said in a low voice as he took a seat the the armchair.  
  
“Hello Gladiolus,” Prompto replied. “Thank you for coming.”  
  
Prompto looked a lot better than he had, but he was uncharacteristically subdued, which all being considered was    
hardly surprising.

Cor nodded at him quickly before returning his attention to the cards, he scanned the table then turned to Prompto and shrugged.

“We’ve lost this time haven’t we?” Prompto asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Cor replied.

“Oh well,” Prompto said dejectedly as he began to tidy the cards away.

“No luck huh?” Gladiolus said casually in an attempt to start a conversation.

“Not this time, but we’ll succeed eventually,” Prompto said, his voice sounded worn but there was still hope in there.

“So- how have you been?” he said cautiously.

After some silence Prompto spoke up. “Better,” was all he managed to say.

“Hey, I’m sorry about the other day Prompto, we didn’t mean to overwhelm you like that,” Gladiolus offered.

“T-That’s. You shouldn’t be sorry. I’m sorry.” As he was talking Prompto’s hand shot up to his neck cupping it defensively.

“It’s not your fault Prompto,” he insisted.

Prompto nodded. “I- I know, Cor said so too. I… feel it is… I am weak and…”

This was excruciatingly hard to watch, but Gladiolus had to bear it. He had his resolve set to stay strong for Prompto now, he knew that there wasn’t anything he could do to help Prompto’s sickness but he knew he could absolutely provide moral support.

“You’ll get better Prompto,” Gladiolus replied seriously.

“Both you and Cor think that, there’s… something… another feeling?” Prompto’s face crinkled into a puzzled expression as he continued to grip his throat. “I want to trust both of you but, I… don’t?”  

Gladiolus didn’t know what to say to this, luckily as always Cor stepped in.

“You don’t have to Prompto, we’re just telling you our own conclusions. You have just as much right to have your own conclusions, and to feel however you feel.”

Prompto nodded, his distressed expression fading as he let his hand fall from around his neck into his lap.

Gladiolus was jealous in a way, Cor’s life experiences and innate stoic nature seemed to give him special Prompto calming super powers.

“I’m sorry to have to do this but I need to step out for a while.” Cor said rising up from the bed.

Prompto didn’t react, he must’ve known already. Gladiolus wasn’t surprised, he’d heard from his father that Cor had barely left the room since the pair arrived.

“See you soon Prompto,” Cor said lightly squeezing his ward’s shoulder.

“How long will you be?” Prompto asked with wide eyes.

“Could be a few minutes, could be an hour. Sorry.” Cor shrugged.

“O- Okay, but, Gladiolus you’re going to stay right?” Prompto looked as though he was starting to panic.

“Of course! I’m not going anywhere until at the very least Cor comes back.”

“Thank you,” Prompto said earnestly.

“Okay I’m off.” Cor started towards the exit.

“Alright, take it easy,” Gladiolus said as Cor pushed the door open, walked through the observation area and disappeared into the corridor beyond.

Prompto sat trying to shuffle his playing cards, though he looked awkward, like his hands weren’t obeying him.

“Need some help?” Gladiolus offered.

“No, I can usually do it,” Prompto protested, mere moments before the cards tumbled down from his hands and onto the bed.

He got up and walked over to Prompto, and without saying a word he helped to pick the cards up and put them in a pile on the steel trolley.

“Frustrating,” Prompto sighed out.

“Want me to shuffle them?”

“No, I want to do it myself. I’ll try again later,” Prompto said flexing his hands slowly.  

“Okay,” he said taking a seat on the bed next to Prompto.

“D-Did I cause Prince Noctis to become upset?”

Gladiolus thought for a little before replying. “Not directly he was upset, but not because of anything you did. He’s upset because of your condition, and he doesn’t like how you’ve been treated by the people you used to live with.”

“Thank you for answering, Cor told me that I could ask Noctis myself sometime but I didn’t want to,” Prompto revealed.

“No problems,” he replied.

“I- I’m not used to all this,” Prompto stuttered, looking flustered. “It really is… different here and, it feels wrong.”

“Yeah?” Gladiolus was intrigued, his friend’s tone seemed almost confessional.

“Can’t explain very well,” Prompto said.

“That’s okay, if you want to try then I’ll listen,” Gladiolus he said supportively.

“I was a subject, and now I’m Prompto. Sometimes, it’s… It’s…” Prompto paused and started again, “In this place, I feel, like I’m a subject again- But, no one treats me like that anymore. I feel… upset.”

Gladiolus simply nodded, worrying about how to respond. Although he didn’t have to, Prompto continued.

“If I, if I was back at base they would have already terminated me for inadequacy. I do not understand why the staff here wish to keep me alive. I… I also wonder that about Cor too, and you and Ignis and even the Prince-” Prompto’s eyes started to shine with a glossy coat of tears. “- it’s hard to understand, since I’m not like any of you-” Prompto stopped, he exhaled slowly, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say more but couldn’t.

Gladiolus was out of his depth, he tried to think of something meaningful to say but his mind just filled up with common platitudes. Eventually he settled on the truth “We care about you, not because you were a subject, not because of results or experiments anything like that. We care about you because you are the same as us, you’re human.”

“Human?”

“Human,” Gladiolus affirmed and continued, “Someone with their own feelings and their own thoughts. Someone who deserves the same respect as everyone else.”

Prompto blinked at him slowly, his teary eyes drying. “Human,” he repeated, smiling at Gladiolus. He seemed to like this word a lot.

Gladiolus was pleased with himself for handling the conversation well. At the beginning Gladiolus had struggled, not sure how to address Prompto. By now he’d come to realise that Prompto was smart, he might not understand everything completely, but he could figure things out if you gave him the time to think about it.

They sat in silence a few moments longer until Prompto piped up, “Actually, could you shuffle those cards after all? I- I want to play with you.”

“Yeah sure!” Gladiolus happy picked up the pack and shuffled the cards well.

“I can... deal them, is solitaire okay?”

“Sure,” Gladiolus handed the deck back to Prompto. He realized that this must be the only form of entertainment Prompto had. Cor hadn’t introduced him to the television quite yet, and as far as he was aware Prompto couldn’t read either, he seemed to understand how to say single letters and numbers but not how to form words.

Prompto set up the table, and they began to play, it was quite fun. They helped each other spot matches and started to make real progress on it.

They were surprised by the sound of the door opening sometime later, they both looked up to the doorway startled. Cor stood there clutching a brown file in his hand, he looked concerned but his expression softened as he walked over.

“Cor! Look! We’ve nearly completed it!” Prompto excitedly proclaimed.

Cor smiled back at him and gazed down at the board, “I see, looks like Gladiolus is much better than I am.”

“Yes actually! He’s a lot more patient, sometimes you move the cards too quickly,” Prompto replied honestly.

Gladiolus had to suppress his urge to laugh, every time Prompto made a comment like that all Gladiolus could think of is how Cor the Immortal was getting schooled by someone more than half his age. It was too funny. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his enormous grin.

“I see,” Cor replied, he was smiling too though.

They moved a couple more cards as Cor watched, and then it all fell into place. Prompto had figured it out, he pointed excitedly at the final card they had to flip over and it indeed completed the chain. “Yes! We won!”

“Cool! Fist bump?” Gladiolus held up his hand, contracting it into a loose fist.

“Fist? Bump?” Prompto looked at him confused.

“Oh, sorry Prompto, it’s a celebration thing. We won, so we can celebrate our teamwork, we bump our hands together.” Gladiolus tried his best to explain, but Prompto was still looking at him strangely. “Cor, do you mind? We can show him.”  
  
“Uh, Okay?” He looked uncomfortable but did it anyway, knocking his fist lightly against Gladiolus’s.  
  
“See? Fist bump,” Gladiolus said.  
  
Prompto carefully drew his hand up into a fist and copied the motion Cor had displayed just previously. He softly bumped their hands together.  
  
“Did I do it correctly?” He asked with considerable concern in his voice.  
  
“Yeah, perfect!” Gladiolus smiled, and Prompto beamed right back at him.  
  
Gladiolus pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time, it was getting close to 8pm, he had to head home soon since he’d promised Iris that he’d be there for dinner.  
  
“As much as I’d like to stay, I have to get going,” he said.  
  
“Oh, okay then,” Prompto sounded disappointed.

“I’ll come see you soon, though I think that Ignis would like to see you next, should I tell him?”  
  
“Y-Yeah, I want to see him too,”  
  
“Okay, I’ll let him know,” He rose of the bed, “I’ll be off then, see you soon Prompto, Cor.”

“Sorry Gladiolus, could you take this file straight to your father? I don’t have enough time to write up a formal report so this will have to suffice for now. Please don’t open it, give it straight to your father it’s highly confidential. I’m trusting you with this okay?”

“Oh! Yeah sure. You have my word,” Gladiolus nodded with conviction. His curiosity nibbled at his mind but he pushed that aside, he was going to make sure the file got where it needed to be. 

“Thank you, see you soon Gladio,” Cor said.  
  
“Yes, see you soon Gladiolus!” Prompto added.  
  
“Yeah! See ya!” He bid his farewell and left.

* * *

Just after Gladiolus left Cor heard Prompto mutter something under his breath.   
  
“Did you say something Prompto?”  
  
“Yes, I did, I learnt something today.”  
  
“What’s that then?” Cor was genuinely intrigued.  
  
“I’m a human,” he said firmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry it's been a while, I'd hit like peak writing brain recently and overloaded myself with ideas 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this update (Just in time for Prompto's birthday :D)
> 
> As always my tumblr is https://its-polaroid-memories.tumblr.com/, if you like message me about FFXV! I just got finished on a bunch of drabbles for Prompto Week so I invite you all to read them if you haven't already :)
> 
> Thank you all for your continued support via Kudos and comments! You really make me feel appreciated!
> 
> <>


	8. Mist

Ignis awoke to the sound of his alarm clock buzzing, as he did every weekday morning at precisely 4:45am. Alerted he immediately rose into a seated position and pressed the ‘OFF’ button on the clock.

He swiftly got out of bed and headed straight for his shower, making quick work of washing himself before proceeding to shave, dry and dress.

He prided himself on the efficiency of his morning routine, cooking his breakfast was timed so perfectly that it was always done as soon as his coffee had finished brewing.

After he ate his artfully composed Croque Madame he picked up his phone to go over his schedule.

Sometimes meetings changed and it payed to be up to date with such alterations. However he was currently staring at a blank calendar. All of the arranged meetings, obligations and duties had been deleted.

 

Completely deleted.

For the next week.

Panic struck him.

 

It was unlike the Citadel offices to make a mistake like this, so it must be something critical.

He tried to put out of his mind any thoughts that something terrible had befallen Noctis as he scrolled through his contacts trying to figure out who to call. Making a choice seemed to paralyse him. Then, his phone began to ring in his hand, startling him further.

* * *

Incoming Call

Cor Leonis

* * *

 

 

Ignis spared no time answering, but before be could even utter a greeting the voice on the other line frantically spoke.

“I’m extremely sorry to put you in this situation Ignis, you’ll have realised already that your schedule has been cleared. This must be confusing for you.”

“I will admit this situation is alarming Marshal, I do hope nothing unpleasant has occurred,” Ignis replied.

“I need to attend to some extremely time sensitive business, this wouldn't normally be an issue except Prompto is to be discharged from the center today. You’ve been tasked to look after him whilst I’m busy,” Cor sounded distressed, this was highly unusual. This situation raised a lot of questions.  
  
“I will do my best,” he replied, resolute.

“I’ll try to explain more when you get here,” Cor promised.   
  
“I will be there as soon as possible Marshal, please don’t worry yourself further.”   
  
“Thank you Ignis,” Cor said breathing out before abruptly hanging up.   
  
He took a few moments to process the information, he thought upon it  whilst draining the contents of his coffee mug. There were many possibilities, but Ignis thought it best not to dwell on what they might be, he was sure the Marshal could explain in due time.   
  
He cleared up after his breakfast, and made a mental plan of which route would be fastest to the medical research centre. Soon after he put himself together, and left hastily.   
  
He had correctly chosen his route, the car journey passed by quickly. Upon arriving he successfully found a parking space as close to the building has he could, and approached the entrance.   
  
The guards let him through immediately, usually there would be a somewhat bothersome security check-in process but since they addressed him by his full name they must have been expecting him.   
  
Once inside he was directed towards the observation room where he first met Prompto, he moved through the successive corridors before pushing open the door to Observation Room 3.   
  
Inside the observation area Cor was pacing, rather quickly, Ignis was struck with a sense of unease.   
  
“Thank you for arriving so quickly, and sorry about this,” Cor said as he came to a stop.   
  
“Just doing my duty sir,” Ignis replied.   
  
Cor nodded, looking relieved, he began to explain, “I have been called to oversee a mission, I can’t tell you anything about it, but I am projected to be away for a minimum of three days. I was granted permission to clear your schedule from Regis, I’m extremely sorry that I did not inform you first but it was a rush decision. I know this is a lot of strain to put on you but, I needed someone to care for Prompto whilst I was away, someone he was familiar with, frankly you were the best candidate.”   
  
Ignis nodded attentively, allowing Cor to take a pause before continuing.   
  
“There was the option to leave Prompto here but, since he doesn’t require any specialist treatment at this point I didn’t want to prolong his discomfort, and with any luck being in a familiar environment will only aid his recovery,” he pushed his hand into his pocket and retrieved a set of keys, presenting them to Ignis.   
  
“Your house keys?” Ignis asked.   
  
“Yes, again, I’m sorry about this, you’re welcome to use my room whilst I’m away.”   
  
Ignis took the keys and placed them carefully within his own pocket.

“You’ll need this too-” Cor handed Ignis a sealed envelope. He turned the envelope over in his hand, on the back he read the words ‘Money and house rules’ in scratchy rushed handwriting he slipped it into his briefcase quickly. Cor continued, “I would’ve preferred to discuss everything with you further but that will have to do.”

Cor then turned to look through the observation window, Ignis followed his gaze to find Prompto was still sleeping on the bed inside. 

“Thank you Cor, has Prompto been told yet?”

“No,” Cor answered abruptly.

“I see, what time do you need to leave?”

“As soon as possible,” as he spoke he raised his hand to the bridge of his nose pinching it tightly.

Ignis felt a great deal of sympathy for Cor, though he could not begin to understand how much stress he must be under. He tried to think of anything he could say to console the man, however he had great difficulty finding the right words. He reasoned he’d help out in the only way he felt comfortable.

“I suppose we should go and wake him then, it’s best not to hold you up any longer than necessary,” Ignis posited.

“Yeah,” Cor reluctantly agreed.

Ignis let him lead the way in and stood to one side as he approached Prompto.

Cor sat down slowly on the mattress, gently bringing his hand to rest on Prompto’s shoulder. “Hey, time to get up Prompto.”

“Don’t want to,” Prompto whined honestly.

There was a moment of hesitation until Cor spoke again. “What if I said you are going to go home today?”

In response Prompto sat upright swiftly, his eyes wide. “Home?”

“Yes, home.”

“Cor! Thank you,” Prompto threw his arms around Cor in an appreciative embrace.

Cor reciprocated folding his arms around Prompto’s back.

“Ignis is here too?” Prompto said as his eyes darted across the room and settled on Ignis.

“Yes, he’s going to take you home and-” Cor paused swallowing before he continued “-he’s going to look after you for a while.”

“Why?”

“I have to go away for a few days, for my job, it’s critical.”

The look of pain on Prompto’s face following Cor’s statement was unbearable. He didn’t say anything at all, he just stared at Cor intensely with his eyes watering.

“I’m sorry Prompto,” Cor said carefully.

“You’ll come back,” Maybe Prompto meant to ask this but it sounded more like a command.

“I’ll come back,” Cor replied.

Ignis remained passive, observing this interaction intrigued him greatly. He took heed of Prompto’s emotional state and internally braced himself, it was entirely possible that the young man would suffer from a great deal of separation anxiety after Cor left.

“When do you have to leave?”

“As soon as possible,” Cor replied, pulling back from the hug enough to look Prompto in the eyes, his hands resting on Prompto’s shoulders. “I’m truly sorry it has to be this way, but I’m sure that Ignis will take very good care of you whilst I’m away, and I’ve told Gladiolus that he can visit whenever he has the time to. You won’t be alone.”

Prompto gave a shallow nod in response.

“I must leave now, I will be thinking of you Prompto, and I should be back in a few days okay?”

“Okay,” he replied weakly.

As Cor rose to leave Prompto stood up with him, pulling at the hem of Cor’s shirt. “Prompto…” Cor sighed out, “I know, I don’t want to leave either. It’s my mission, my duty.”

At those words Prompto let go, and straightened in his posture, almost as if he was standing to attention. “I… I want you to do well on your mission. S-sorry for delaying you.”   
  
Cor pulled Prompto in for a final hug, after a few moments he simply said, “Thank you Prompto.”   
  
He walked towards the exit before stopping, and gazing over his shoulder at Prompto one more time before finally pushing the door open and leaving.   
  
Prompto stood perfectly still, arms limp at his sides, gaze fixed upon the main exit of the observation room, he watched Cor leave. He looked hurt.   
  
Ignis scanned the room until his eyes settled on the armchair where a small travel bag sat, and a fresh change of Prompto’s clothes lay on top.   
  
He walked over to where Prompto was standing to close the gap before asking softly, “Are you okay Prompto?”   
  
“No,” Prompto replied honestly, “Feels… feels... empty here,” Prompto said slowly tapping his hand firmly against the centre of his chest.   
  
Ignis didn’t know how to respond to this at first, moved by how affected Prompto was.  He collected himself and spoke, “You miss him already?”   
  
“Yeah,” Prompto said almost whispering.   
  
“It might get a little tough for you, but I think this will be a lot easier if you were to return home,” Ignis said.   
  
Prompto simply nodded, heading over to the armchair he picked up his clothes and retreated to the curtained off area of the bathroom to change.   
  
Ignis waited patiently. Prompto returned quickly enough, dressed in a plain dark red tank top and light cargo trousers. He sat down on the bed to pull his socks on, and then sat there for a while looking around the room.   
  
“I won’t miss this room,” he said thoughtfully before standing again to pull out a pair of boots from under the armchair. He pushed his feet into them without altering the shoelaces, they were clearly too big.   
  
Seeing Prompto in those boots had the strange effect of evoking the image of a small child trying on their parents shoes, Ignis remembered a time from his childhood when Noctis had tried something similar with his father’s jacket. He smiled, though he was unaware he was doing so until Prompto questioned him.   
  
“You are happy Ignis?”   
  
He didn’t respond, caught off guard by the question.   
  
“You were smiling,” Prompto clarified.   
  
“Oh, yes. I was remembering something happy,”   
  
“I like doing that too,” Prompto replied, smiling for a moment before opening the bag and stuffing his bedclothes and blanket inside roughly and zipping it up.   
  
“Are you ready?”   
  
“Yes.”   
  
“Let’s go then,” Ignis said pulling the bag off of the chair and around his shoulder.   


* * *

The discharge process had been simple enough, it seemed that Cor had briefed the medical staff as they were fully aware that Ignis was to be taking Prompto home. They’d given Ignis the required anti nausea medicine in a bag and waved them off cheerfully. After a short and easy drive they were at Cor’s house, Cor realised now why he’d called Ignis so early, it was winter so the sun had yet to rise, meaning it was safe for Prompto to walk the short distance from the car to the house.  
  
Prompto bounced on his feat as Ignis’s tried different keys in the front lock, at the second try they were in. Prompto pulled his clearly borrowed boots off carefully before standing in the hallway, breathing in deeply.   
  
“It’s good to be back home isn’t it?” Ignis asked, placing his shoes down next the oversized old boots.   
  
“Yes, it is,” Prompto said running his hand along the wall on his way through to the sitting room.

Ignis stopped to remove his coat before picking up his brief case and the bag again and following Prompto.

He found Prompto curled up on the couch.

“Cold,” Prompto stated.

“Do you have a blanket?”

“Yes, in the bag,” Prompto shivered a little as he replied.

Ignis promptly opened up the bag and pulled out the blanket inside, managing to avoid pulling out the crumpled clothes inside.  Making a mental note to investigate the laundry facilities in Cor’s home he walked over to Prompto and offered him the blanket.   
  
“Thank you. I’m gonna nap,” Prompto said sleepily, settling down into the couch until he was comfortable and finally shutting his eyes.   
  
Ignis took a seat in the armchair and set about opening the envelope Cor had passed onto him before.

There was a substantial amount of money inside, ten thousand gil. He knew upkeep for a few days wouldn’t be that expensive, then again Cor was probably being over cautious, behind the money was a folded piece of paper that looked like it had been snatched out of a notebook as it was torn along one edge.  
  
He opened the page up, the writing was rough with a few mistakes.   


* * *

 

  
_Ignis,_  
~~~~  
_~~First of all~~ I’m sorry that this was so urgent I didn’t receive much notice myself. Monica Elshett has assumed your duties for the time being and is supporting Prince Noctis, which should at least be satisfactory until I return. _  
  
_Please make sure Prompto gets plenty of rest, he is recovering but I am told it will be very slow. He’s ambitious though and at times stubborn, if you are really struggling to get him to settle you may have to resort to telling him that your request is a command but I hope it won’t come to that._  
  
_He’s still not to expose himself to sunlight, tell him I will discuss it with him upon my return if he asks._  
  
_We don’t watch tv or listen to broadcast radio, I haven’t gotten that far with him yet and I’d like it to remain that way for the time being._  
  
_As far as food goes, I’m not really sure what he doesn’t like yet. ~~But he l~~ I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You can just ask Prompto if you have any questions about his preferences. _  
  
_I try to keep a good schedule with him but it can be difficult with the darkness, but we try to wake up at 10am and be in bed before midnight._  
  
_~~~~~~I don’t know~~ I hope this is helpful, unfortunately you won’t be able to contact me whilst I’m away, and again sorry to put this on you. _  
  
_Thanks,_  
 _Cor._

* * *

  
  
He was thankful for the rules and sat looking over them for a while to absorb them, he felt inspired to do the best job he could.   
  
Although he was concerned about Noctis, it was hard not to be. He checked the time, too early to think about calling, he resolved to call later on when he was sure the Prince would be awake enough to have a conversation.   
  
He folded the note carefully and returned it to the envelope and tucked it back inside his briefcase.   
  
He spent the next few hours walking around Cor’s house to familiarise himself with his temporary home. He found that the food situation had gotten a little better but knew he would need to arrange some means of obtaining groceries soon.   
  
He found the utility room just off of the kitchen, and was glad to see there was some detergent and fabric softener. He decided against putting on the laundry just yet incase the sound of the washer woke Prompto up from his nap.   
  
He decided to venture upstairs, after all he wanted to determine if he would rather stay on the couch or in Cor’s room.   
  
He figured out which room was Prompto’s easily, as soon as he pushed the door open he was greeted by many printouts of amatuer photographs tacked up all over the walls. Most of them were well taken but of very mundane subjects.   
  
The one thing they had in common were they all captured the bright colours, though muted in the near darkness of the house you could still make them out. The brilliant red of a soup can label, the green numbers glowing on the display of the microwave, and, a very familiar picture of a daisy he’d seen before that brought a smile to his face. He shut the door and proceeded to the next bedroom.   
  
Now he was doubly sure the first room was Prompto’s. As this room was plain, without a decoration in sight, the only item of note was a set of free weights kept neatly in a rack.   
  
He sat down on the bed in order to test the mattress, it was rather firm which was how he preferred it. The pillows were similarly firm, which suited him fine.   
  
It then dawned on him that he would be needing spare clothes, yet another thing to sort out.   
  
He returned to the sitting room to find Prompto was awake and sitting up, he turned to look at Ignis, his eyes full of panic.   
  
“Prompto?”

“I- Ignis. I- I-,”  
  
“Are you okay?”   
  
“B-bad.”   
  
“Bad?”   
  
“Bad dream.”

Ignis found himself drawn to comfort Prompto, there was no denying that something about his wide pupiled stare and frightened stammer that reminded him of Noctis. When they were younger, Noctis consistently had terrible night terrors after the accident.  
  
He sat down and took Prompto’s hand delicately in his own.   
  
“I’m here for you.”   
  
“Thank you,” Prompto visibly began to settle, “I’m glad to be home, but it feels bad.”  
  
Ignis intuited, “Because Cor is away?”   
  
Prompto nodded, his hand spare hand flitting up to press against his chest.   
  
“I’m sure he’ll be back in no time, he’s very good at his job.”   
  
“I’m still-” Prompto paused, looking strained, as he often did when he was remembering his words, “-concerned.”   
  
“I understand.”   
  
“Can. Can I hug you?” he queried, with a good measure of apprehension about his speech.   
  
Normally Ignis would prefer not to be hugged, and normally he would decline. However nothing about this situation was even remotely normal, maybe that was why he made an exception. Or maybe it was just because it was Prompto. Either way he opened his arms without hesitation and let Prompto fall into a simple embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages. Sorry folks! I hope you all enjoy this offering :)
> 
> As always my tumblr is https://its-polaroid-memories.tumblr.com/
> 
> I will never stop thanking you all for your continued support via Kudos and comments! Never! (Thankkkkk)
> 
> <>


	9. Deluge

The hug was warm, but somehow incorrect? Different? Wrong?

His mind settled on the obvious answer. It wasn't Cor.

Prompto pulled himself up slowly and Ignis’ arms fell away immediately. His stomach did that strange thing where it felt like it was floating up and then dropping down over and over.  
  
Cor had called it 'feeling nervous’ but it was more intense than ever. And it got worse every time he thought about Cor. 

“How are you feeling?” Ignis asked.

“Nervous,” he said with certainty.

Ignis nodded at this, “I suppose that can't be helped.”

Prompto tried to understand Ignis’ response, he felt like he would've been able to if he was in a better condition. But today he was struggling to understand a lot, defeated he spoke up, “Sorry, I don't know what you mean.”

“Sorry Prompto, I meant that feeling nervous given the situation is quite normal,” Ignis replied.

“It’s normal? Why?” he asked, his curiosity piqued.  
  
“Well, anyone who had been separated from someone they cared about would feel nervous,”  
  
“Do you think Cor feels nervous too?”  
  
“I would say so, yes.”  
  
“I don’t know why but that makes me feel better,” he really wanted to try and grasp why this was, but he simply couldn’t. It was almost like his thoughts themselves were escaping him before he could make sense of them.  
  
“It occurs to me that you haven’t eaten anything yet today and it’s already been awhile since you first woke up. Would you like anything to eat?”  
  
“Yes!” The answer came with ease, he hadn’t been thinking about food at all, but he realised he had become hungry some time ago.  
  
“Alright, I’ll see what I can put together for you,” Ignis replied smiling.  
  
Ignis’ smile was good, it made Prompto feel safe, and something else. He couldn’t place it exactly, but it made him feel warm. It made him want to smile too.

 

* * *

  
  
Prompto was smiling, very slightly, but it was a vast improvement considering the morning he’d had.  
  
He rose from the sofa and made his way through to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and inspected the food inside, a few of the items had spoiled which was unsurprising since Cor had spent the better part of a week at the Medical facility with Prompto.  
  
The milk and cheese had seen better days, he disposed of them. What remained was a single onion, three carrots, butter and an unopened packet of bacon still well within its use by date.    

He closed the fridge whilst considering the options, idly he rummaged through the food cupboards until he happened upon a can of red lentils.

“Perfect,” he said involuntarily. He should at least be able to make a decent lentil and bacon soup, he'd have preferred to prepare the lentils from scratch but in a pinch the ones he had found would do fine.

Prompto padded into the kitchen, “Did you say something Ignis?”

“Oh! Yes, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just figured out what I could make.”

“C-can I help?”

“Of course you can, consider it your next cooking lesson,” Ignis said, smiling gently.

 

* * *

  
  
After a successful cooking lesson and a delicious lunch Prompto retreated to his bedroom to rest.  
  
Of course Ignis made sure that Prompto had everything he needed and was as comfortable as he could be before leaving to make a phone call.

He desperately wanted to call Noctis, and even though it was already twelve thirty and Noctis would certainly be awake, he had no desire to disturb him whilst he was in meetings.

He called Gladiolus instead, knowing that unless anything had come up he'd be on his lunch break.

The phone rang only three times before the brash, and comforting voice of his friend answered.

“Hey Iggy, 'sup?”

“I would be right in thinking you already know about the changes to my schedule?”

“Yeah, Dad caught me before morning drills. Is Prom doing okay?”

“For now he seems to be doing fine. His mood is low but that's to be expected.”

“I'm gonna come over later, do you need anything?”

“As a matter of fact I do, in my haste I haven't packed any clothes and we'll be needing some groceries. There's a spare key to my apartment on Noctis’ key set, for now just bring five days worth of clothes, I'm sure you’ll be able to find everything.”

“I'm sure I will, and the groceries?”

“I'll send you a list in a little while,” after he finished speaking he let out a strained sigh.

“You alright?” Gladiolus asked.

“Yes, well. I admit to being somewhat disoriented, this isn't exactly how I thought my week would go.”

“From what I can gather it isn't how Cor thought this week would go either. It's weird for everyone. I got your back though, call me anytime you need anything,” Gladiolus reassured him.

“Thank you, I'm very grateful,” he smiled.

“Hey, what are friends for? Sorry Iggy, I gotta get going, I’ll see you and Prompto around six, yeah?”

“Yes, see you then.”

“Bye!”

Gladiolus hung up and instantly relief washed over Ignis. He hadn't realised it but he’d been holding in tension all morning. Of course he knew he wouldn't have to face his new responsibility alone but hearing his friend confirm that fact made it a lot easier.

Before slipping his phone away he typed up a shopping list and sent it on to Gladiolus. Satisfied that he’d sorted out the grocery situation his mind turned to cleaning up all the dishes from lunch.

Since Prompto was resting he figured, after the dishes he might as well do other things around the house. He filled the afternoon with vacuuming, sweeping and dusting, then finally it was time to put on the laundry.

He retrieved the bag from the sitting room and carried it through to the utility room. He crouched down in front of the washing machine and began to unzip the main pocket.

A blood curdling scream pierced through the silence of the house, the sound shook Ignis to his core.

“Prompto?” he yelled, but the screaming continued.

He wasted no time, abandoning his task immediately and raced up to Prompto’s room.

He pushed the door open with haste, and observed Prompto, definitely asleep, but squirming and screaming impossibly loudly. Instinct guided him to sit on the side of the bed and place a hand on the side of Prompto's face.

“Prompto,” he said loudly and firmly, competing with the screaming as best he could, “Prompto! I'm here!”

After what seemed like an eternity, Prompto’s eyes snapped open and his screaming ceased.  
  
“Ignis,” he said in between desperate breaths.  
  
“I’m here, it’s okay.”  
  
His wide eyes darted around the room frantically, after taking enough of it in he sighed in relief, “I… I had a dream. I was back on Base. Ignis, it was horrible, I never want to go there again… I-” he burst into tears.  
  
Ignis found himself unable to respond verbally, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what Prompto was going through. The only thing he found himself capable of doing was to pull Prompto close into an embrace and just, let him cry.

As he listened through the wailing and sniveling, he could feel himself detaching emotionally. He didn't want to, he wanted to be able to do more, support Prompto fully, but he was starting to suspect he couldn't handle it all. So, for now, physical comfort would have to do, and besides what emotional support could he offer?

What do you say to someone who has been through such an extraordinary and unique trauma.

 

* * *

 

His eyes burned from the tears, he felt like he wouldn't be able to breathe anymore, he wanted to stop it, he felt worse than ‘awful’. In his dream the nurses that had so kindly taken care of him during his time in the medical facility started treating him like the researchers has back at Base.

And all of the things he had managed to avoid thinking about were happening again all at once. The needles, the drips, the constant vomiting, the pain.

Now, in the absence of all that, in Ignis’s arms, as he wept, he wondered if this was the dream. The pain he'd felt moments before seemed a lot more real to him than the soft reassuring body of his friend.

He remembered Cor was gone, and his crying renewed. Everything seemed more difficult and hopeless without him.

He wanted to sleep for the rest of time, or at least until Cor came back. If he came back.

Prompto knew, missions are dangerous, after all his had failed, and he wouldn't be alive now if Cor hadn't found him.

But  _he_ couldn't be there for Cor.

He thought about telling Ignis what he was thinking about, but all he could do was weep until his eyes dried up and his mouth tasted of salt.

 

* * *

 

It had been some time since Prompto had stopped crying, now he’d slipped down into Ignis’ lap and was sleeping. He didn't know what to do. He was loathe to move but knew that it wouldn't be long until Gladiolus arrived.  

He checked his watch, it was ten to six.

He shifted to try and pull his phone out of his pocket and message Gladiolus to arrive a little later, but as he opened his messages the door buzzer rang and Prompto shot up into a seated position.

“Who?” Was all Prompto managed to say.

“It should be Gladiolus, he wanted to come around and see you,” Ignis responded.

“Gladiolus!” Prompto grinned. Jumping up from the bed and racing downstairs.

Ignis smiled to himself, at least there was someone capable of cheering the him up. He followed Prompto down the stairs, though he was not anywhere near as enthusiastic.

“State your name and business!” Prompto chimed answering the intercom.

“It's me, Gladiolus.” He answered back.

Prompto pressed the buzzer and Gladiolus appeared through the doorway almost instantaneously, holding a small suitcase and a couple of bags of groceries.

Prompto flitted about his friend, as if he couldn't decide what to do until Gladiolus placed the bags on the floor and enveloped Prompto in a huge hug.

“Gladio!” Prompto squeaked. “I'm glad you came over, what's all that stuff you have?”

“Some of Ignis’ clothes, y’know since he's staying with you, and food!”

“Thanks Gladiolus, you've been a big help today,” Ignis said.

“It's no problem! Where do you want the bags?”

“I can put the food away!” Prompto offered, picking up the grocery bags and taking them through to the kitchen.

“Here’s your case Iggy, I just packed the clothes I saw you wear often and like, five days of underwear and what I assumed were your PJ’s, although they could be gym sweats?” Gladiolus extended the suitcase to for him to take.  
  
“Thanks, you can actually just leave it by the door for now.”  
  
“Sure,” He set it down, “You okay?”  
  
The question startled him, he hadn’t really thought about it, and he answered frankly, “No, not really.”  
  
Gladiolus made a face at that, Ignis couldn’t quite determine the expression, it wasn’t a good one, “I can’t say I’m surprised, but I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”  
  
They stood in silence a second until Prompto returned clutching a six pack of Ebony. Ignis’ eyes lit up, he hadn’t asked Gladiolus to pick any up.  
  
“What is this? Where would you put it?” Prompto asked.  
  
“It’s cold coffee Prompto,” Gladiolus said smiling.  
  
“Oh… So you can have it cold too… Is it tasty?” Prompto said whilst staring at the packaging.  
  
“You’re better off asking Ignis, I don’t really enjoy it myself.”  
  
“Ignis? Is it tasty?”  
  
“You can try some later and find out if you like,” Ignis responded.  
  
“Thanks, so, it goes in the fridge?”  
  
“Yes, it does.”  
  
Prompto briefly disappeared to put the Ebony away.  
  
“Thank you f-,” Ignis tried to thank Gladiolus again, only to have him interrupt and wave it off.  
  
“Ignis, it’s fine, it really is, you don’t need to keep thanking me,” he said emphatically.  
  
“I meant for the Ebony, I didn’t ask for any.”  
  
“I figured you’d want some creature comforts,” he said shrugging, “It’s no big deal.”  
  
Prompto walked back through into the hallway, his eyes tracking from Ignis to Gladiolus. “I’m gonna go sit down.”  
  
“Not a bad plan Prom, mind if we join you?” Gladiolus said.  
  
“I’d like that,” he replied earnestly, not picking up on Gladiolus’ jovial tone.  
  
“Lead the way,” Gladiolus gestured toward the sitting room. Prompto nodded and entered the room first, picking his favourite spot on the couch, then staring sadly at the empty seat next to him.  
  
“Can I sit there?” Gladiolus asked.  
  
“Y- Yeah.”    
  
As he sat down in the spot Cor normally occupied Prompto’s expression shifted to a smile.  
  
Ignis took his place in his favoured armchair, it wasn’t until he sat down that he began to feel the fatigue of the day set in. He watched Gladiolus and Prompto chatter for a while, Prompto was very curious about how Gladio’s life had been going, asking about his job and his sister and Clarus. Ignis was glad that Prompto had someone else to talk to who had a lot more energy than himself, and of course Gladiolus’ familiarity with Prompto was certainly helping to lift the mood.  
  
He didn’t notice that he was starting to nod off in his seat until Gladiolus addressed him directly.  
  
“Ignis, are you okay? You’re falling asleep.”  
  
“Yes, sorry. Maybe it’s time for an Ebony after all,” he said dismissively joking to try and hide his exhaustion. He left to retrieve a can from the refrigerator as he walked back through the door he cracked it open and handed it to Prompto, “You wanted to try it.”  
  
Prompto took the can from Ignis, and inspected it before taking a sip, his nose wrinkled up immediately, he passed the can back, “It’s not entirely unpleasant, but there’s something very different about it compared to hot coffee. I wouldn’t chose it.”

Ignis fought his urge to chuckle at Prompto’s frankness, “It’s not for everyone.”

“But you never know if you don’t try,” Gladiolus added.

Prompto nodded, taking in Gladiolus’ words eagerly.

Ignis seated himself again and slowly sipped his Ebony, savouring it and realising it had only been his second caffeinated beverage of the day, it was no wonder why he’d already started to flag.

With Gladiolus there it felt easier, he wasn’t going to admit to anyone but he was dreading when it would come time for him to leave. He cared for Prompto a great deal but wasn’t anywhere near as adept a friend as Gladiolus. Feelings of inadequacy slithered through him.  
  
Hunger pangs alerted him to the fact that he and Prompto hadn’t eaten in a while, “I’d say it was about time for dinner, what do you think Prompto?”  
  
“Yes, I’m hungry.”  
  
“Would you care to join us Gladio?”

“Yeah, that sounds great! Thanks for offering.”

“I’ll go get it ready then, shouldn’t be long.”

“Cool, hey Prom, wanna play cards whilst Ignis is cooking?”

“Oh. Yes but, I like watching Ignis cook too…”

“Then we can play on the kitchen table if Ignis doesn’t mind.”

“That would be perfectly fine,” Ignis answered immediately, he didn’t really want to be alone with his thoughts.

“Nice, where are the cards?” Gladiolus asked.

“In the bag, but the bag isn’t here anymore?” Prompto said, confused.

“Oh, I moved it into the utility room, don’t worry I’ll get the cards for you,” Ignis offered, shuffling off to fetch them.

He located them in one of the side pockets of the bag and brought them through to the kitchen where Prompto was waiting eagerly to receive them.  
  
The ambient noises he created whilst cooking alongside Prompto and Gladiolus’ voices filled the air, he hoped that would be enough to push the doubt and inadequacy he was feeling aside. It didn’t. A darkness tickled the edges of his mind, enticing him to dwell on his failures both past and current.  
  
He tried to concentrate on his task, but the foul introspection came in waves, dread sowed its roots in, causing his stomach to lurch.  
  
He was sure he hadn’t felt this overwhelmed by his duties in a very long time, perhaps since Noctis was in High School. The memories being dragged up now only served to reinforce the negativity.  
  
He tried his best to focus on the chatter of his friends, on the sizzle of the food in the frying pan, trying his best to let the friendly atmosphere override the unpleasantness, until finally, dinner was done.    
  
“It’s just a simple stir-fry I hope you don’t mind,” Ignis said plating it up.  
  
“I’m getting a meal cooked for me, I’m not gonna complain,” Gladiolus replied.  
  
“Good,” Ignis said, picking up the plates and turning to face his friends. “It’s ready.”  
  
Prompto scrambled to pack away the cards excitedly, “Thank you Ignis!”  
  
He set the plates on the table and took his seat on the end facing Gladiolus. He looked at his plate, he was extremely hungry now, but his stomach was in knots. He knew that the food would be good, and that he needed it. He slowly lowered his fork into the food, but instead of picking it up, he pushed it around his plate.

“Something bothering you Iggy?” Gladiolus asked him,

“I’m fine. It’s just been a very long day,” Ignis responded automatically, he picked up and ate a mouthful of the food.

Gladiolus nodded, though the look on his face indicated he knew that wasn’t exactly the problem. He didn’t push further though, and Ignis was glad for it.

“A very long day…” Prompto mirrored Ignis’ words, “Were you up early Ignis?”

“Well, yes I was but, that phrase means that the day feels like it has taken longer than usual. For example, if you have to wait around for something the time seems to pass more slowly,” Ignis explained.

“Oh I understand, waiting for Cor to come back when I was in the observation room was like that, I was surprised sometimes when he had only gone for an hour and it felt much longer. And now, it feels like that because we are waiting for him to come home. Thank you for your explanation,” Prompto smiled weakly in appreciation.

“That’s quite alright Prompto,” Ignis tried his best to smile back convincingly.

“Ignis, after dinner do you want to play solitaire with us?” Prompto asked.

He thought about it for a few seconds before answering, “Oh, why not?”

Prompto’s invitation touched him, he wasn’t sure how much his current state was affecting him, but he couldn’t deny the sense of warmth he felt from the simple gesture.  
  
He found it easier to eat after that, and he was glad for it too. His body almost seemed to thank him for it.  
  
“That was very good Ignis!” Prompto piped up as he set his cutlery neatly into the center of his plate.  
  
“Yeah it was great, thanks!” Gladiolus added.  
  
“My pleasure,” He replied collecting up the plates, a genuine smile emerged, he was good at one thing at least.

“It’s your turn to set up Gladiolus,” Prompto said cheerfully.

“No probs!”  
  
Ignis dismissed the unclean dishes so he could join in as soon as possible. He had time to clean them up later and, he’d rather not spend another moment sinking deeper into his feelings.

The evening became are a welcome reprieve from the rather intense and unexpected day that had preceded it. Focused activity was good for both himself and Prompto it seemed, he took a mental note, perhaps if he taught Prompto more games it would provide enough distraction for them both to forget about their situation.  
  
As the hours passed Ignis started to feel at ease, he watched how Gladiolus interacted with Prompto, how he answered questions candidly and without second guessing. He took it in, the best way to learn was by watching them, he seemed to be getting a slight handle on a few of his doubts now.  
  
Of course he still had lingering bitter feelings but they were easier to deal with. It would be a lot of hard work, but it was work he was willing to do, he just hoped sincerely that he would do it well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna make any excuses or what not for not updating for a while. I'm just happy that I have managed to write for this fic again, I've been through a fiction dry spell/ writing block and to be honest I'm not sure it's entirely over.
> 
> However! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and hopefully you'll all enjoy reading it! 
> 
> As always my tumblr is https://its-polaroid-memories.tumblr.com/ if you ever wanted to drop me a message or come stare at my blog?
> 
> I continue to be honoured by the kudos and lovely comments I get sent! I'm so glad there are people out there enjoying my work :) Thank you all!
> 
> <>


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